28 May 2009

25 Years on – Still no cure


It was around 25 years ago that the first reported cased of HIV were being reported in the US and soon after in other parts of the world. 25 years and still no closer to a cure. But that’s not that surprising at all. Decades have passed and they have not yet found a cure for the common cold. A virus is just that, a virus, the perfect killing machine. It mutates and it attacks with stealth and force.

But 25 years ago people who were infected by HIV were convinced that there lives were over. In most cases it was. Doctors turning patents away if, they had HIV, and the stigma attached to it did not help them in the early days. To be honest things have not changed much since in that regard. While I was in South Africa last year I heard a story of a mother who had killed not only her self but her kids as the local communities believed she had HIV. Then the other day I saw on the BBC website that HIV patients are being refused medication for common illness.

So what has changed in regards to HIV 25 years on? Well awareness for one has changed. No longer is HIV an African or Gay disease. Everyone is at risk across the globe. But it does seem that the numbers of Gays and people in African countries contracting HIV are on the decline. On the other hand infection rates of young white heterosexual people in Europe and in the US are on the up. Why is this so is any one’s guess. I can only but speculate that the young white’s that are now being infected feel they are immune to this disease. One thing is for sure awareness in the UK is nothing like I saw in the 6 months I was in southern Africa. At times I thought I was in the wrong country and that I should be back in the UK spreading awareness of HIV.

But things are getting better for people with HIV. Treatments are much more effective than they have ever been. And now with early detection the medication does not have the same devastating effect that it use to in the past. Advancements in the medication and treatment now mean's that people with HIV can lead a more normal life than before. But could it also be that because of these advancements in treatment that youngsters are willing to take the risk and get HIV as they know they can just pop a pill and things will be alright? I don’t think we will ever get to the bottom of that one. At the end of the day prevention is better than cure and to be “forewarned is to be forearmed”. So education and awareness is the way forward.

Be sure to click on the links in the blog for more details.

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