I have just read on Edge New York that AIDS is 25 today! This anniversary is taken from the fact that on this day in 1983, the US journal Science published a paper from France's Pasteur Institute describing a virus found in a patient who had died. That virus was HIV.
In 25 years this virus has gone from pockets of infection, to a "gay plague" and on to become a global pandemic.
The Terrence Higgins Trust state that since then around 89,000 cases of HIV have been reported in the UK alone. Nearly 18,000 people have died in the UK from HIV and AIDS related illness in that time. Worldwide it is estimated that, in 2007, 32.2 million people are living with AIDS! 4.3 million new HIV infections and 2.9 million AIDS related deaths were reported in 2006.
It is estimated that 30% of those infected with HIV in the UK do not even know that they have the virus. Scary, huh? I was tested about 6 years ago and luckily was HIV-. Luck had a lot to do with it too because I used to be apathetic when it came to safe sex. I have been unsafe in the past, even since my test, because I had such low self esteem that I thought, "I don't care if I catch the virus!" I now have more self respect, not to mention more respect for those I have sex with. If you have unsafe sex, there is more than just yourself to think about.
I have at least 3 friends who are HIV+, and knew 1 person who died from AIDS. Thankfully quite a low number, but still too many. Survival rates are higher, life expectance longer and treatments better, but a cure is still to be found. So to "celebrate" this milestone anniversary make sure you are safe and that you promote safety and awareness among others.
No comments:
Post a Comment