posted on June 5, 2001 02:42:07 PM new
I just saw, on Headline News, that since it was first discovered, AIDS has killed 20 million people. It seems unbelieveable.
Are there not enough funds available for research? Wouldn't this be classed as an epidemic? What is the hold up with finding a cure for Aids? What can one person do to help aide in finding a cure?
posted on June 5, 2001 03:16:05 PM new
An estimated 21 million according to an article on cnn.com. Impossible to understand those numbers. AIDS: 20 years of an epidemic
posted on June 5, 2001 03:29:59 PM new
kraftdinner, the numbers are just staggering, aren't they. Perhaps the one thing we can do is to not turn away from those that have AIDS or are HIV positive. It's a small step, but if more people would do this, some of the stigma(unwarranted in my opinion) would disappear and perhaps more people would support spending more money to fight this.
posted on June 5, 2001 03:39:25 PM newWhat can one person do to help aide in finding a cure?
Donate money. Understand its cause and prevention and be a part of the solution instead a part of the problem.
I have a lot of compassion for those that have the disease. I also hope that the world learned something from it.
Draconian quarantine policies when it was first discovered were urged by some but never followed through. If AIDS had been treated with the same seriousness as a case of smallpox then millions would have been saved. I don't know if it is still true but at one time I believe there was a $50,000.00 reward for reporting a case of smallpox to the World Health Organization. I do believe that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
AIDS is beyond the stage were quarantines can work. A cure or education on prevention are the only options now.
posted on June 5, 2001 04:04:40 PM new
Thank-you for the link uaru! I have read quite a few articles in Time, about Africa, and those made me ill. The rapes these women have to endure, the children born with AIDS....and I always think, - that could be me.
Sometimes I think maybe you're right hcross. How many billions have been donated to find a cure, or something that would HELP at least, for AIDS and Cancer. To think it might not happen in my or your lifetime, probably isn't a stretch. Is it a bureaucracy? Why are they no closer to anything after 20 years of research for AIDS and, let's say 100 years for cancer?
I'm all for donating as much as you can afford to these 2 causes Saabsister . I just don't understand, after seeing these ridiculous numbers, what is taking so long, and why?
posted on June 5, 2001 04:04:55 PM new
hepburn -no kidding
thank God I'm celibate.
(by choice, thank you)
But then there are some that have contracted this thru infected blood, and the like, but I believe those statistics are low. They now check blood very thorougly now.
posted on June 5, 2001 07:16:46 PM new
around the world there have been perhaps several thousand medical professionals who have contracted AIDS(and Hepatitis) from being inadvertently stuck with a contaminated needle. only recently have companies begun to produce safety devices for disposal of sharps.
posted on June 5, 2001 07:18:02 PM new
There are two fundamentally opposed goals in the AIDS story.
1. Stopping the spread of AIDS.
2. The longevity and healthiness of AIDS carriers.
One of these goals must be subjugated to the other. So far, we've chosen to subjugate goal 1 to goal 2.
10 years ago the spread of AIDS in America had slowed to a trickle. The population at risk was terrified of the disease. Recent headlines make it clear that this terror has ended, and the disease again has begun to spread rapidly.
posted on June 5, 2001 08:13:48 PM newAre there not enough funds available for research?
Sure there are. But why find a cure when it would cause the money to stop coming in? Grants and such would cease to exist. People would be out of jobs. Research labs closed down or cut back. Would you want to say you found a cure and lose your job?
Wouldn't this be classed as an epidemic?
Yes it's an epidemic. An out of proportion one, but as long as there are drug addicts and prostitutes and people who utilize such, it will never stop. Children get it from their parent(s). It's a never ending disease.
What is the hold up with finding a cure for Aids?
See #1 - Plus, they say the virus is mutating, changing every time they find a drug that works. How does this happen? I don't know. What is the hold up with finding a cure for Cancer? Same thing. Cure=no funding=no jobs
JMO
My dh says it's a government plot gone wrong. But he thinks everything is a government plot gone wrong, from the blackout on the east coast in 1965(?) to the spider webs he sees on the grass in the winter. Don't even ask!
posted on June 5, 2001 08:17:00 PM new
I don't know if we have approuched that point yet but there is a limit to what money can do. It takes a highly trained researcher of remarkable inteligence with the desire to pursue this particular problem, and we can not drop every other line of research to pursue this one.
More mediocre technicians chasing less likely ideas will probably not speed up the big break throughs needed.
Until those breakthroughs happen I personally have not found it intolerable to keep my pants on when I am away from my sweet little wife and I would never accept blood transfusions or any other invasive medical procedure past my skin that I am not 100% sure is safe.
Believe me I have asked some hard questions about how my dentist and clinic clean and sterilize their instruments and equipment, and nobody thought I was silly to ask.
I have refused to handle machined parts at work that someone else had handled before they were deburred and left blood smeared on them.
In a court case recently the judge stopped the prosecution from handing a piece in evidence to the jury to pass around and exaimine because it had blood on it and was a biohazard.
posted on June 5, 2001 09:10:37 PM new
AIDS has killed 22 million people worldwide, according to a special report in this week's Newsweek magazine. Among those whis plague has claimed are:
(Quoting from the magazine)
"Ryan White, Rock Hudson, Arthur Ashe, Alvin Ailey, Rudolph Nureyev, Randy Shilts, Elizabeth Glasser, Keith Haring, Liberace and all the emaciated, sunk-eyed nameless victims."
This disease isn't as simple as "keeping pants up or needles out of skin." It is a deadly epidemic that doesn't discriminate by race, sexual orientation, nationality, age or gender.
There are an 900,000 Americans infected with HIV and an estimated 300,000 people who don't even know that they have the virus that causes AIDS. It is a public health crisis and the rates are soaring in Third Wold countries. This catastophic disease is killing adults in their prime, robbing children of their parents and depleting economies of a viable workforce.
I pray a cure is found, just as I pray for remedies that will eradicate cancer. It was the diligence and courage of AIDS patients, who fought for increased testing of experimental drugs, that inspired others - such as the National Breast Cancer Coalition - to demand greater medical research funding.
Off my soapbox now.
**spelling**
[ edited by Baduizm on Jun 5, 2001 09:12 PM ]
posted on June 5, 2001 09:24:03 PM new
Baduizm, I am just geusstimating here, but wouldn't you say that at least 75% (most likely more) of those that have contracted HIV did so because of their own behavior?
I am sorry for them that is a terrible way to die, I feel more sorry for the children who were born with it and those that got it from transfusions.
It is fairly simple, unlike some diseases, you can protect yourself from AIDS, if you don't know what can happen to you if you are out there screwing around and injecting drugs, then you are pretty damn stupid.
posted on June 5, 2001 09:41:41 PM new
Yes Hcross, that's partly true. But that doesn't make the people who contract the disease any less than those suffering from other illnesses?
Are AIDS patients any less than smokers who puff away on cigarettes for years, then get lung cancer and sue the tobacco company? Any less than the alcoholic who gets liver disease after downing fifths of whiskey a week? Any less than the person whose diet consists of fried and fatty foods, and then suffers high blood pressure, diabetes or heart problems?
Aren't those ailments all typically caused by personal behavior or lifestyle? And yet, I rarely hear people make similar comparisons to those patients and ones diagnosed with HIV/AIDS.
posted on June 5, 2001 09:43:11 PM new
Snowyegret, agreed, the graph on your link does not support my claim of the spread having slowed to a trickle. It also illustrates the problem, how to estimate the rate of the spread of HIV infection based on reported cases of infection. Observe that the graph is an estimate, not a report of hard data.
Things have changed a lot from 10 years ago with respect to AIDS. Two things.
1. HIV carriers are living longer and healthier lives.
2. HIV is spreading at a pace more rapid than ever before (as measured by new victims per day).
Now it's true, correlation does not show causation, but in this case, the causual relationship seems obvious. The whys, hows, and most importantly the how-to-not's are far more cloudy. However, it seems beyond any intellectual challenge to observe that the current approach is resulting in a an accelerating spread of the epidemic.
posted on June 5, 2001 09:54:24 PM new
Getting AIDS from having sex with an infected person seems to be on the decline. Aren't the growing numbers of AIDS cases related more now to 3rd world countries and addicts sharing needles?
These figures just make me sick, and I have to agree with mtnmamma. They make me think not much is really being done to help anybody. It makes me think people are getting ripped off with the billions donated and still there's no light at the end of the tunnel after all this time. I don't want to think this way, but I don't see much that's encouraging.
This is one of the reasons why I get so P.O.'d with the government even thinking about space exploration. That money should be used here instead to care for the sick and hungry.
posted on June 5, 2001 10:36:54 PM new
I don't have any evidence to support my statement roofguy, but I just think it seems like sexually transmitted HIV is on the decline in North America, compared to the 3rd world countries. I could be wrong. Maybe it's from reading about the situation in Africa, etc. I bet half of the 22 million are from 3rd world countries, but again, it's only a guess based on what I've heard/read so far.
posted on June 5, 2001 10:53:01 PM new
Kraftdinner, you're right. HIV/AIDS rates are down in North America, despite younger, heterosexual females who are contracting the disease. That's the new face of HIV, young heterosexual females.
The rates are skyrocketing in some countries in Africa, Asia and South America. AIDS is the fourth leading cause of death globally and the number one cause of death in Africa. It's estimated that within 10 years, there will be 40 million African AIDS orphans on that continent.
**edited to add**
Thanks Krafty for starting what I consider to be a thought-provoking thread of significant societal and world health issues
[ edited by Baduizm on Jun 5, 2001 10:54 PM ]
A quote:
Dr_Murphy ... We have strong evidence from a rise in sexually transmitted diseases across the country that older individuals who at one point had been engaging in safer sex, are relapsing into unsafe sex practices.
The context was that of discussing teenage risky behavior.
[ edited by roofguy on Jun 5, 2001 10:58 PM ]
posted on June 5, 2001 10:56:29 PM new
Then how do you think people in North America are getting it?
The highest increase here is among black, low income females. The same group with the highest STD rate, the highest illegitimate birth rate, and the highest dependance on public assistance.
posted on June 5, 2001 11:06:06 PM new
Thank-you Badu (waving Hi!), but I'm sure someone else would've started this thread seeing these kinds of statistics in the news this week.
It just really hit me. It makes one think about the big picture. The government has lost it's mind, people can't even afford electricity or gas, the Chinese are mad at us, AIDS is STILL an epidemic, I mean, what next?
I'm not on a downer - just a weird day after seeing that.
posted on June 5, 2001 11:24:14 PM new
JT said: "Then how do you think people in North America are getting it?
"The highest increase here is among black, low income females. The same group with the highest STD rate, the highest illegitimate birth rate, and the highest dependance on public assistance."
I fail to see your point. Are you implying that the groups you've named have higher promiscurity rates, or because they are black, seem pre-disposed to catching the disease? Please elaborate as my mind is seriously trying to understand your post here.
Are you speaking from any experience, or from Jerry Springer? That is not meant as a slam, but I find a lot of posters watch Springer daily and form their opinions based on his show.
I have worked with many, many white familes affected by HIV/AIDS. Again, I ask you to please enlighten me.
posted on June 5, 2001 11:37:13 PM new
Baduizm, at the core of the problem we face is denial.
I don't know if JT is right or wrong in the cited posting, but I do know that the way to show it wrong is to make a case for an opposing view. I also know that the "fastest rising" component of any phenomenom is highly likely to be a very small component, and thus not not worthy of focus.
The wrong way to proceed is to back JT into some political correctness corner.
Political correctness is killing people. It's killing mostly gay white men, but plenty of black women too.
posted on June 5, 2001 11:55:07 PM new
I read your link roofguy (thanks!), and see that 20% of AIDS cases in the U.S. are women. Out of that, 65% are black, and that was associated with their social standing, according to the writer. I wonder, if you broke it down as to how many were infected sexually, compared to rape, intravenous drug use, and other things (blood transfusions, etc.), how many would be sexually transmitted compared to 5 or 10 years ago? I don't think this is a black issue, but an issue of poor people not getting the proper education or the medical help they need....supported by the situation in the 3rd world.
. I just don't understand, after seeing these ridiculous numbers, what is taking so long, and why?