30th Anniversary of HIV/AIDS Discovery
I feel especially lucky to be a medical-scientist and a gay man in this time in human history. Although I don’t work with HIV, I educate myself in the research that is happening and participate in clinical trials in the development vaccines against the virus. Consider joining the study if you’re eligible.
Of course, personal responsibility is the best way to prevent the spread of HIV, but there are other ways, such as blood transfusions that can also cause transmission. Get tested regularly because you should. It’s free and fast.
HIV is not the death sentence it was in the 80s to us in the modern world. We have numerous anti-retroviral agents that decrease the replication of the virus and therefore, progression of the disease. HIV disproportionately affects Sub-Saharan Africa, with causes being linked to poor education, lack of prophylaxis and lack of treatment for infected adults. Therefore, widespread vaccination is ideal in lieu of expensive drugs to eradicate or prevent the continuing spread of the virus.
Distribution of HIV Infection Worldwide
There is one case of a man, known infamously as the “Berlin Patient”, who had AIDS and leukemia, and was given a bone marrow transplant from a patient with a specific genetic mutation (CCR5-Δ32) that is known to have resistance to the virus. The patient shows no sign of infection now. Of course, this sort of treatment, finding a donor with this mutation who is also a donor match is extremely rare and cannot be expected to be applied to the general public. With this case comes valuable knowledge that can help us develop gene therapies for those already infected by the virus.
I have met many HIV-positive people in my life and have heard stories about those who have died from AIDS (that number is 25 million and counting). The gay rights movement was born from the discrimination of gays because of the epidemic AIDS was causing. I implore everyone to remember this.
More info on the initial transmission of HIV from monkeys to humans here.
More info on HIV prevention and treatment here.
More info on the Berlin Patient here.