# Aids



## marcos_ipn

Hi, yesterday was the international day versus de AIDS and this important problem of  public health is present in the live of people around the world, not only in regions like Africa, Asia or LatinAmerica, that is too present in regions of the first world like occidental Europe, Northamerica or Oceania, everyday more people had contact with the HIV and it doesnt stop.
My ask is Which is the perception and the situation of the HIV-AIDS people? For example the medicaments, discrimination, the religion and the "urban legends" (for example in some regions of Africa) have the terrible idea that rob the virginity of one girl can cure the AIDS) and the actually attitude of the people about the risks of infection to HIV.


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## Maja

Well, the worst statement I ever heard about AIDS is that it is "a gay  disease"!!!  And it happened quite recently... 
I think that there  are still prejudice about its transmission (like "it won't happen to me" or  discrimination of infected people), but there are various organizations as well  as the Health Ministry who work on educating people about HIV and AIDS.  Particularly around Dec 1st. Many rallies and humanitarian concert are being  organized, along with tribunes and free distribution of condoms and  leaflets.
The numbers are shocking, but even more shocking is the general  stand that the official numbers have to be multiplied by 10 to approximately  show the real numbers of infected individuals!!!


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## Victoria32

Maja said:


> Well, the worst statement I ever heard about AIDS is that it is "a gay disease"!!!  And it happened quite recently...
> I think that there are still prejudice about its transmission (like "it won't happen to me" or discrimination of infected people), but there are various organizations as well as the Health Ministry who work on educating people about HIV and AIDS. Particularly around Dec 1st. Many rallies and humanitarian concert are being organized, along with tribunes and free distribution of condoms and leaflets.
> The numbers are shocking, but even more shocking is the general stand that the official numbers have to be multiplied by 10 to approximately show the real numbers of infected individuals!!!


Here in New Zealand, there is a lot of accurate information about AIDS and the Ministry of Health is quite concerned about it. My son is a student nurse and they cover the subject in great detail...


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## Random1

In the USA, there is a 'movement' going on about AIDS. Several companies are making red colored merchandise, and they donate part of the profit to aids research. MTV -always- has AIDS commercials and "spreading the know."


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## Miguelillo 87

Well in Mexico, the idea of a "gay and prostitute didease" it's still very powerful. A lot of persons believe that they'd be touch by this terrible disease.

But authorities are oding its best trying to informing people, most the old people 'cause a big part of housewivws are getting infected by this disaese. Guess who? ¡The chaeter husband!

So authorities are doign big campaigns toghetar with gay associations in order to try to stpo this diseese.

If oyu have social securyty in Mexioc. The hospitals give oyu the medicien by "free" so it's very good one 'cause persons can have a better life quality


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## mirx

Well, I have popbably been living in a bubble my whole life, but I don't think I have ever come across with a person infected with the virus.

As for that matter in Mexico, well, I disagree a little bit with you Miguelillo, I don't think there's still this stigma in Mexico, that AIDS is associated with gay lifestyle and prostitutes, remember the many cases during the early nities, of people who were infected by blood transfusions after the earthquake of 1985.

Besides sex-ed in schools is very accurate and complete, it might be the older generations who still hold these misconceptions, but in a general context, I'd say people are understanding and have no taboos about the desease.


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## maxiogee

mirx said:


> Well, I have popbably been living in a bubble my whole life, but I don't think I have ever come across with a person infected with the virus.



You don't think that they wear badges announcing it, do you?
How do you know that of, say, the people you met last week, half a dozen weren't sufferers?
You said elsewhere that you are in Ireland - we had 731 known cases in 2002 - you may well have come across some of these.


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## Brioche

Maja said:


> Well, the worst statement I ever heard about AIDS is that it is "a gay disease"!!!


 
Sex between men plays a very important part in the transmission of the disease in Australia.

According to the Australian Federation of AIDS Organisations
_Transmission in Australia continues to be mainly through sexual contact between men. 86% of all new HIV transmissions in Australia in 2000 - 2005 were estimated to have been via such contact._

From the same source, 
_New Zealand’s epidemic is small. However, new HIV cases have doubled in recent years—from fewer than 80 in 1999 to 183 in 2005. Sex between men accounted for about half the new diagnoses._


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## mirx

maxiogee said:


> You don't think that they wear badges announcing it, do you?
> How do you know that of, say, the people you met last week, half a dozen weren't sufferers?
> You said elsewhere that you are in Ireland - we had 731 known cases in 2002 - you may well have come across some of these.


 

I must have said: I haven't gotten to know. Anyways what is this have to do with main the topic?

Besides I wrote "I *don't think* I have" not that I haven't


Cheers.


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## maxiogee

My point was that they are a largely silent and invisible group of people. They do not proclaim their illness.
My mother had cancer. When she was diagnosed in the 1970s it was possible to talk openly about the disease - it hadn't been a little over ten years previously when one of her sisters contracted it.
We can now know that we have met cancer sufferers. This openness has helped to dismiss the myths and silence which used to surround it. Time was that when someone had cancer one told no-body - sometimes even withholding knowledge from one's siblings.

This must not be allowed to happen with AIDS. We need to ensure that the inane urban myths surrounding it are shattered and repleaced with knowledge and awareness of the true nature of the disease.


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## jadorelefrancais

I must qualify what Brioche has said, to ensure that it is not implying a 'blame factor'. HIV is not a 'gay disease' despite statistics. It is still present in large numbers among heterosexual people. It would be ignorant to assume that it is attributed to the homosexual population. 

It is everyone's problem and must be promoted as such.


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## LouisaB

I'm not HIV positive myself, so I can't really answer the original question as to how 'HIV-AIDS' people respond, but I've done a lot of work with the Terrence Higgins Trust in the UK and had contact with many people who are HIV positive - and I was surprised at what I found.

Of course, AIDS is _not _the 'gay disease', and in one TV drama I worked on, my predecessors had done their best to make this clear by presenting a main heterosexual character as having contracted the virus from a girlfriend. However, many HIV+ people I have met since have criticised this, because they themselves _are_ gay, are aware that the _greatest_ risk of contracting the virus remains in the gay community, and are afraid that AIDS can only be considered a 'socially acceptable disease' if those infected are heterosexual. In retrospect, I think what my programme did was a mistake, though one made with the best of intentions. We should openly acknowledge that the virus is a serious threat to the gay community, and that this doesn't make it any less terrible a tragedy. Obviously it doesn't. In the last three years, I have lost two good friends to AIDS, and the fact they were gay obviously didn't make it any less heartbreaking for any of us, but the media doesn't always seem to recognise this!

The danger in Europe of the 'AIDS = Gay' equation is that gay men in particular are blamed for the spread of the disease, which is historical nonsense. But perhaps we can grow beyond that now, and say that homosexuality in no way caused the disease, but those who are gay are still the greatest sufferers.

However, I've had no contact with THT for over two years now, and would be very interested to know what the current feeling is among HIV sufferers. If I'm perpetuating out-of-date stereotypes, I would really like to be corrected.

Louisa


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## Miguelillo 87

mirx said:


> Well, I have popbably been living in a bubble my whole life, but I don't think I have ever come across with a person infected with the virus.
> 
> As for that matter in Mexico, well, I disagree a little bit with you Miguelillo, I don't think there's still this stigma in Mexico, that AIDS is associated with gay lifestyle and prostitutes, remember the many cases during the early nities, of people who were infected by blood transfusions after the earthquake of 1985.
> 
> Besides sex-ed in schools is very accurate and complete, it might be the older generations who still hold these misconceptions, but in a general context, I'd say people are understanding and have no taboos about the desease.


 
Sorry if I wasn't clear, but I also agree with you, I know new mexican generations know taht the problem is not particullary or exclusive to a social group, But the "old ones" believes taht, mi mother and grand mother were one of those, and I have to explain them How AIDS is infected, and that EVERYBODY are vulnerable to this disaese.

Thanks God, School and Socil Security Services are doing their best to well-inform population abouit it.


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## Miguelillo 87

maxiogee said:


> You don't think that they wear badges announcing it, do you?
> How do you know that of, say, the people you met last week, half a dozen weren't sufferers?
> You said elsewhere that you are in Ireland - we had 731 known cases in 2002 - you may well have come across some of these.


 
I totally agree with you.

Sometimes yuor best firnd can have without knowing it.
I was as you mirk, Beliving that the AIDS was away of my friends and aquitances, but someday someone told me, You know Iván. He has AIDS.

You know marco.- He also has it.

So I was flabbergasped, but I was forced to open my eyes and to see that this disaese is "walking" between us.


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## Maja

Brioche said:


> Sex between  men plays a very important part in the transmission of the disease in  Australia.


The risk groups are real. However,  I  probably wasn't clear in my previous post, but the person who told me that AIDS  is a gay disease meant that _only_ gays can contract it which is an utter  nonsense. _Everyone_ can get AIDS. More over, there is not a single  infective disease in the world, as far as I know, that "chooses" a certain type,  gender, race, physiognomy etc. Some people can be just more predisposed to it  then others.


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## Lalajuela

I currently have multiple American friends living in Kenya (they've dedicated 5 years to being there). They are there serving as volunteers to educate communties about HIV/AIDS (giving medicine and dispelling myths) and to help with the large orphan population that is currently growing very quickly due to both parents dying young from this horrible disease. There are towns they visit where someone that does NOT have HIV/AIDS would be a minority. The statistics given in this thread about sex between men are what they are, and I'm not saying they don't have a role in the epidemic, but I too would hope that _no one_ would reduce this disease to such a title as "a gay disease." I know my friends have looked into many faces of dying innocent children that have this disease by birth, not because of any choice THEY made. Anyone who would point a judgemental finger to anyone with this disease, especially innocent children, is incomprehensible to me. (I'm not saying anyone here is doing that- I'm just talking in general).
 I love what my friends are doing abroad, but the effects are also felt here in the US. When they come back for visits, they teach not only about what they see in Kenya but awareness about what's going on right in "our own backyard." They raise awareness and make sure people know that even though they _are_ working far away, you don't have to cross oceans to help with HIV/AIDS education and relief. Often people they know (especially younger people) ask them why they aren't afraid of spending so much time in such close proximity to people infected with the disease, and it's a great way for them to explain how HIV/AIDS is and is not contracted. They are helping people to Break through some of the "fear" and unknowns about the disease. Hopefully with more and more people taking an active role, awareness, acceptance and prevention will increase as well!


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## jabogitlu

> The risk groups are real.



Does anyone from the US (or Haiti) remember back in the mid '80s when the CDC insisted on including Haitians in the "risk group"?  It was commonly referred to as the 4-H club, for Haitians, Homosexuals, Hookers, and heroine Addicts.  The effects on the Haitian-American community, as well as for Haitians living in Haiti, were socially and culturally enormous...

I'm glad that, 20 years later, we are finally moving past the myths of AIDS.  (Most of us moved on long ago, but parts of the world - especially the place where I was born and raised - still cling to debunked and ludicrous sentiments.)


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## Bonjules

Hola,
Is there a lot to say that has not been said a million times about AIDS? Yes, the amount of suffering is incredible and shattering esp. for the children who suffer and die because of risky behavior of adults, poverty, lack of education and the fact as rich societies we don't get terribly worked up if half the population dies in, let's say, Zwaziland.
 In those rich societies themselves the problem is more that it seems to become a 'manageable' disease, ecouraging risk taking. And a pussyfooting attitude towards 'sufferers' that protects their 'privacy', letting them infect others (recently a few got punished, but the
unreported rate is huge). All this is really a total failure or lets's say non- existence of a Public Health policy.
 By the way, all of these reasons mentioned : Poverty, lack of education, that we leave poor countries to 'their fate' and that we don't even have a rudimentarily effective Public Health system/policy - not locally and not globally- is leading to a much bigger threat than HIV (and it will not stop at your borders).
 Think about it the next time you sit on an airplane for 6 hours next to a coughing passenger. It's called Tuberculosis
(and get yourself a chest film a few months later).
'saludos'


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## ElaineG

> In those rich societies themselves the problem is more that it seems to become a 'manageable' disease, ecouraging risk taking.


 
I have seen and heard this effect here in NY, among both gay and non-gay HIV sufferers.

In affluent America,  during the tragic years of the epidemic, when death tolls were front page news, when And the Band Played On, Larry Kramer, Angels in America, Rock Hudson dying (I've condensed 10 years of history there, but...) had the gay community and concerned others on the edge of their seats (usually bawling their eyes out), the AIDS epidemic was deservedly seen as a crisis. 

The gay men I know who were adults during that era (mid 80s-early 90s) are survivors of a holocaust. I once teasingly asked my gay boss (now early 50s) why him and his (miraculously faithful) partner of 20 years spent so much time hanging around with people 15 years younger themselves like me and my friends. He looked at me with tears in his eyes, and said, "Elaine, all my friends are dead."

My generation (late 30s) didn't have that experience but we were exposed to it. On the first day of college, I attended a mandatory safe-sex workshop, where gay and straight seniors lead a discussion about AIDS, STDs, condom use, you name it. I attended marches on Washington with college friends where the AIDS quilt was exposed, each patch a testament to a lost loved one. The last time I saw it it was big enough to fill most of the Mall, and they said it would never be displayed in its entirety again, because it had gotten too big. Beloved professors wasted away and then died of AIDS.

Not being "safe" was seen as crazy in light of the terror of the epidemic, and a few of my gay contemporaries _have never had sex without a condom in their lives_, a feat of self-denial, clear thinking and restraint that I really admire. 

The gay men that I know who are in their early 20s didn't grow up with any of that fear. I know (well) 4 HIV positive men under 25. (I don't know any my own age). To them, it's a chronic health problem, like say asthma. They monitor their T-cells. They take the latest medication. They are fit and healthy party animals.

A former drug-user that I know, the HIV positive sister of a friend of mine, gave birth to 2 planned and wanted children with her (negative) husband. I was horrified of the risks and thought she was being selfish, but she planned it all out with her doctors, had the best of everything and the kids are negative. She's symptom free after 15 years with the virus.

So the entire face of what it means to have HIV has changed in affluent America. It's not a death sentence, it's not a tragedy, it's a nuisance. (I'm not endorsing, I'm reporting). Diabetes will kill far more Americans this year than AIDS, and impose far greater taxes on the health system, but no one wears ribbons for diabetes.

I've lived in East Africa, and the disease is something else there. It kills. So this is just about American AIDS.


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## Victoria32

Bonjules said:


> Hola,
> Is there a lot to say that has not been said a million times about AIDS? Yes, the amount of suffering is incredible and shattering esp. for the children who suffer and die because of risky behavior of adults, poverty, lack of education and the fact as rich societies we don't get terribly worked up if half the population dies in, let's say, Zwaziland.
> In those rich societies themselves the problem is more that it seems to become a 'manageable' disease, ecouraging risk taking. And a pussyfooting attitude towards 'sufferers' that protects their 'privacy', letting them infect others (recently a few got punished, but the
> unreported rate is huge). All this is really a total failure or lets's say non- existence of a Public Health policy.
> By the way, all of these reasons mentioned : Poverty, lack of education, that we leave poor countries to 'their fate' and that we don't even have a rudimentarily effective Public Health system/policy - not locally and not globally- is leading to a much bigger threat than HIV (and it will not stop at your borders).
> Think about it the next time you sit on an airplane for 6 hours next to a coughing passenger. It's called Tuberculosis
> (and get yourself a chest film a few months later).
> 'saludos'


Yes, there is a rising rate of tuberculosis here.


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## Setwale_Charm

Lalajuela said:


> I currently have multiple American friends living in Kenya (they've dedicated 5 years to being there). They are there serving as volunteers to educate communties about HIV/AIDS (giving medicine and dispelling myths) and to help with the large orphan population that is currently growing very quickly due to both parents dying young from this horrible disease. There are towns they visit where someone that does NOT have HIV/AIDS would be a minority. The statistics given in this thread about sex between men are what they are, and I'm not saying they don't have a role in the epidemic, but I too would hope that _no one_ would reduce this disease to such a title as "a gay disease." I know my friends have looked into many faces of dying innocent children that have this disease by birth, not because of any choice THEY made. Anyone who would point a judgemental finger to anyone with this disease, especially innocent children, is incomprehensible to me. (I'm not saying anyone here is doing that- I'm just talking in general).
> I love what my friends are doing abroad, but the effects are also felt here in the US. When they come back for visits, they teach not only about what they see in Kenya but awareness about what's going on right in "our own backyard." They raise awareness and make sure people know that even though they _are_ working far away, you don't have to cross oceans to help with HIV/AIDS education and relief. Often people they know (especially younger people) ask them why they aren't afraid of spending so much time in such close proximity to people infected with the disease, and it's a great way for them to explain how HIV/AIDS is and is not contracted. They are helping people to Break through some of the "fear" and unknowns about the disease. Hopefully with more and more people taking an active role, awareness, acceptance and prevention will increase as well!


 
The trouble with Africa is that there is not much to be done about it there simply by means of financial investments or supplying medicines (although this is already a lot, of course). It takes changing the whole mentality, it takes changing the perceptions of the relationships between men and women, the morals, the current practices which all encourage the spread of various diseases and violence. It is the whole of the society which is a fertile soil it right now. 
I had worked in Africa for years and have many good friends working there. Presently, without changing the whole culture and level of education, nothing will change otherwise. This is so true for other parts of the world as well.


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## Bonjules

Victoria32 said:


> Yes, there is a rising rate of tuberculosis here.


The trouble is that it looks like it will be untreatable before long (multiply drug resistent). That's the really scary part, along with the fact that it is difficult to protect yourself from catching it.


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## Bridgita

Moderator Note:  This post has been merged with an existing thread on the topic of AIDS.  Please use the search feature before starting new threads.

Hello everyone!! Another forer@ suggested that I start a thread with this title, because she seems to think that I PERSONALLY find AIDS dirty; however, that is not the case. I was merely stating the WORLD view of the disease and I have quite a number of articles that will support it. There is a HUGE stigma on AIDS, and I am not a bad person for pointing it out. There are articles that suggest that people did not receive proper care, because they were suspected to carry the disease and also that people will not seek the proper care and treatment because of this very stigma in fear that they will be discriminated against.

http://www.eldis.org/static/DOC10145.htm
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2006-03-06-aids-lawsuit_x.htm
http://www.israelpositive.com/TheStigmaAidsSong.htm
http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/jamaica_37903.html
http://psychology.ucdavis.edu/rainbow/html/aids.html
http://www.virusmyth.net/aids/data/chrftricks.htm

These are just a few links regarding the subject. I would like to hear other opinions regarding this topic. Thanks!


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## Bonjules

What a strange question.
A virus (or any bug) knows no morals; the 'morality' of the bearer is in my opinion not a very intersting or even
useful topic for discussion. That you will find plenty of folks or groups handing out 'blame' and discriminate is of course to be expected, since the issue is mixed up with personal habits and lifestyles.
The buck stops however with those who are charged with Public Health and Safety; are they doing enough to prevent possible transmission, protect the uninfected and help treat (and protect from discrimination) the infected?
Sadly they are not, on all accounts.
As with all serious transmittable diseases, a strong proactive attitude is needed: Extensive screening, a register, supervised treatment and assurance of non-discrimination, as well as publicly funded research and development of vaccines(with some effort, we'd probably have had a vaccine a long time ago)and other treatments.
It will now come to haunt us that for so long we have treated Medicine as a private business, let our "Public Health' fall into a state that is a joke and have no system in place whatsoever to deal with any kind of 
medical mass emergency.
HIV still kills massively in poor places, although good (but costly)treatment is avaiable now. For us in rich societies, we have TB- probably soon untreatable- looming. A lot scarier, since easy to catch, w/o doing anything 'bad'.


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## uchi.m

I am afraid I cannot state anything for _others_, just for myself.

AIDS is not dirty, nor has it any other sensible quality. It is just some disease. Of course, a lethal and infectious disease, but just as Hansen's disease or tuberculosis were once.

Medical technology has been developing at fast pace, and in a way that extending AIDS patients life expectancy is not a dream anymore. Sooner or later AIDS is not going to be a lethal illness any longer (I hope so).

AIDS patients don't deserve to be labelled or discriminated against. The past time lepers didn't deserve to be labelled or discriminated against. But it seems that history repeats itself...


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## mirx

uchi.m said:


> I am afraid I cannot state anything for _others_, just for myself.
> 
> AIDS is not dirty, nor has it any other sensible quality. It is just some disease. Of course, a lethal and infectious disease, but just as Hansen's disease or tuberculosis were once.
> 
> Medical technology has been developing at fast pace, and in a way that extending AIDS patients life expectancy is not a dream anymore. Sooner or later it is not going to be a lethal illness any longer.
> 
> AIDS patients don't deserve to be labelled or discriminated against. The leprosic patients from the past times didn't deserve to be labelled or discriminated against. But it seems that history repeats itself...


 
An it may just as well be reasonable, humankind has always been afraid of the unknown, now that it us widely known, we still can't cure it and that is also scary. We are also scared of things that we cannot achieve. Sad as it may seems it may be one of the reasons why people discriminate such diseases.


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## Countless_Individuals

Bridgita said:


> I was merely stating the WORLD view of the disease and I have quite a number of articles that will support it. There is a HUGE stigma on AIDS, and I am not a bad person for pointing it out. There are articles that suggest that people did not receive proper care, because they were suspected to carry the disease and also that people will not seek the proper care and treatment because of this very stigma in fear that they will be discriminated against.
> 
> These are just a few links regarding the subject. I would like to hear other opinions regarding this topic. Thanks!



Somebody has trouble reading?  I read the USA Today article.  Did the person who posted the link read it?

It doesn't refer to HIV/AIDS in terms of stigma.  It is about a alleged case of a single police officer who may have interrupted mouth-to-mouth resuscitation on the possible assumption that a heart attact victim had a communicable infectious disease.  That's really ignorant and sad, if it happened, but one cop not knowing all the facts is not the same as evidence of worldwide stigma.   Propagating ignorance......


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## Bridgita

Countless_Individuals said:


> Somebody has trouble reading? I read the USA Today article. Did the person who posted the link read it?
> 
> It doesn't refer to HIV/AIDS in terms of stigma. It is about a alleged case of a single police officer who may have interrupted mouth-to-mouth resuscitation on the possible assumption that a heart attact victim had a communicable infectious disease. That's really ignorant and sad, if it happened, but one cop not knowing all the facts is not the same as evidence of worldwide stigma. Propagating ignorance......


 
NO, I don't have trouble reading. It never ceases to amaze me, the rude attitudes of some people in here. Correct me if I'm wrong, but is this forum not labeled "Cultural DISCUSSIONS?" I can't have a discussion with a newspaper. And that was just one example that I had listed, far from the entire reason I had posted in the first place. Actually, maybe it was you that didn't read, because I started this thread to continue a discussion that started in another thread and reading a newspaper article can not enlighten me on the thoughts and opinions of others, but rather general facts. I wanted to hear people's thoughts on the subjects and not condescending comments. Thanks.


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## Chaska Ñawi

Bridgita said:


> Actually, maybe it was you that didn't read, because I started this thread to continue a discussion that started in another thread and reading a newspaper article can not enlighten me on the thoughts and opinions of others, but rather general facts.



Moderator Note:  Actually, Marcos started this thread.  Your post was incorporated into it.

If we are continuing discussion, let us take off the boxing gloves and continue _discussion_.

Thank you.


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## Kajjo

Countless_Individuals said:


> It is about [...] a single police officer who may have interrupted mouth-to-mouth resuscitation on the possible assumption that a heart attact victim had a communicable infectious disease.  That's really ignorant and sad


OK, AIDS is nowadays not primarily a medical issue but a political issue -- at least as far as most discussions (this one here, too!) and public opinions are  affected.

The next comment is not targeted _specifically_ towards AIDS, but generally adressses medical preventive measures with regards to the quoted statement above:

Medical employees _must_ take extreme care to avoid infection by all kinds of contagious diseases and they cannot and do not know which disease a individual emergency patient might or might not have. I personally would not like to be treated by emergency personell who does not care for infective prevention. In Germany all emergency teams are instructed to use _instrumental _resuscitation whenever possible. Everything else would be irresponsible -- both towards all patients and the personell.

Emercency personell is only human and has family as everyone else. I would not want to become infected by cruel and deadly diseases because of political correctness issues. Everyone has to draw split-second decisions when confronted with a situation where you can yourself become infected or have to refrain from helping. This is not easy and nothing for others to criticise who have never been in such a situation. Theory and belief is fine, reality is different.

Kajjo


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## Kajjo

mirx said:


> An it may just as well be reasonable, humankind has always been afraid of the unknown, now that it us widely known, we still can't cure it and that is also scary. We are also scared of things that we cannot achieve. Sad as it may seems it may be one of the reasons why people discriminate such diseases.


You are right. We are afraid of unknown things in general, and in untreatable diseases in particular.

However, many infection prevention schemes, carefulness and responsibility is viewed one-sided, and that is negatively, when discussing AIDS. The same preventive measures against other diseases are accepted as necessary much more readily.

Many actions and opinions appear to be motivated by political correctness, rather than by scientific and medical knowledge. Discrimination is a fine word to describe unequal treatment of equal people, however, it is a harsh word to describe fear (whether justified or not) and carefulness.

Each single victim that becomes infected due to too relaxed preventive measures is one victim too much. It is the defeat of society and medicine if issues of political correctness actually cost lifes.

I do not intend to paint a picture of fear with regards to AIDS, which is actually only a moderately infectious disease. But I just cannot accept that people who are careful to keep hygienic procedure are looked down at.

Kajjo


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