Today is...
ladyday
623 Posts
World AIDS Day.More than 25 million people have died from AIDS worldwide since it was first diagnosed 25 years ago. Most people are aware of the devastating impact AIDS has had worldwide, and not enough is being done on a policy level to stop the spread of HIV. But the very important work being done to raise awareness about the global problem leads some people to believe that it's not a problem in the U.S. anymore, when that's not the case.Some of you know I work in sexual health education. I'm not trying to preach, but I feel like I should share some statistics with you today.You may not know: -->[/b]Over 1 million people in the U.S. are HIV positive, and one in four of those are unaware of their status.[/b]*-->[/b]An estimated 40,000 new HIV cases are diagnosed in the U.S. each year.-->[/b]Half of those are people under 25.-->[/b]African-Americans are disproportionately affected. Although accounting for 13% of the population, African-Americans made up 49% of new HIV cases in 2004.-->[/b]AIDS is the 3rd leading cause of death in African-American men 25-34 and THE[/b] leading cause of death in African-American women 25-34.(All statistics from the Kaiser Family Foundation and the CDC.)*The CDC recently released a report that recommended ALL Americans between 13-60 get routinely tested for HIV.To find a free and confidential testing site near you, go to www.hivtest.org.So, to sum up:1. Get tested.2. Wear a condom.That is all. Back to your regularly scheduled record related madness and general hattitude. 
Comments
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From another fellow new kid on the block, I think you should be at least a three-year member before calling for a ban, especially on something like AIDS awareness.
I was jokin', man.
I thought it was a typo and you meant to say BANG.
My bad.
Screws fall out all the time. The world's an imperfect place.
Thanks for posting that important message. All you young (and old) bucks out there, be sure to practice safer sex. I was just looking at AOL's Black voices segment on the number of prominent Black folks that have died of AIDS in the last 25 years. I was unaware that some of those folks fell to the disease. It sure makes me glad to be married and monogamous.
Peace,
Big Stacks from Kakalak
I am not with this at all ( the CDC thing )
IMO, "recommendations" of this nature turn into mandatory testing and mandatory distribution of HIV drugs that do more harm than good.
um...did nobody else notice this?......k...i'll say it...hilarious!
On a moral/philosophical level, if I ever thought it would come to that (which in this country I believe would never happen), I'm with you. I don't think mandatory anything is a good idea because it takes the decision out of the hands of the people.
But the idea of routine testing is to change people's notions about HIV testing.
Most people only get an HIV test because they feel they have done something to put themselves at risk (see Chris Rock's bit on every nasty scag he ever had). But a lot of times people are in denial, or think they aren't at risk, because they don't associate themselves with the possibility of HIV. They think it's still just a gay disease or intravenous drug users or whatever.
This is why you have 25% of people who are HIV positive walking around out there with no idea they have it.
If you get people to think of an HIV test as a simple routine medical test like a cholesterol check, I think you would see a lot more early diagnoses. Hopefully this would hinder the spread of HIV to other people they could have passed it on to, but also that person would be able to try treatment right away, hopefully before it progresses to full-blown AIDS. And it is just a simple test now, as simple as a cheek swab, and you can get a rapid test where you can find out the results quickly.
As for HIV drugs, the big myth is that HIV therapies work for everyone who tries them. Some people see someone like Magic Johnson, who is lucky enough to have lived with HIV for 15 years now. He is just that, LUCKY. He's also wealthy, he's an athlete, and he he was infected with a strain that responded to treatment. Nowadays you are just as likely to be infected with a strain that is resistant to treatment already, or is especially virulent, or believe it or not, you can be infected with more than one strain. Plus everyone is different. Treatment really is a personal approach between you and your doctor because you usually have to keep trying different things until you find something that works.