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Editorial: Continue the fight against HIV, AIDS

 
Published Dec. 1, 2015

Actor Charlie Sheen's recent announcement that he is HIV-positive is a powerful reminder that HIV/AIDS remains a global epidemic for which there is no cure. In the decades since the epidemic reached its height, medical advances have allowed people with the disease to live longer, healthier lives. The social stigma of being infected also has faded, a welcome change that has, improbably, ushered in a new, dangerous era of indifference. Today is World AIDS Day, an event that once garnered broad attention but now passes with little acknowledgement in far too many corners. HIV still remains the world's leading infectious killer. If left unchecked or ignored by a new generation that did not bear witness to its devastation, the disease has the potential to again spiral out of control.

Worldwide, 35 million people have HIV/AIDS. Most live in sub-Saharan Africa or other low- and middle-income countries. But relegating HIV to the continent of Africa and other poor nations would be a serious miscalculation. In the United States, 1.2 million people live with HIV, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Of those, nearly one in eight is unaware that he or she is infected. That is unacceptable and irresponsible given the ease and availability of testing.

Florida led the nation in 2013 with 5,377 newly diagnosed HIV cases. The Sunshine State also ranked third among states with the highest numbers of children under 13 with HIV infections. And Florida's numbers are going in the wrong direction, rising 14 percent in 2014. Hillsborough led bay area counties with 443 HIV cases, according to state records. This hardly suggests a disease on the wane.

The federal government's national strategy to stamp out HIV/AIDS calls for greater access to testing, treatment and preventive drugs, including PrEP, a daily pill that reduces the likelihood of HIV transmission by 92 percent when taken consistently. Officials are targeting prevention efforts at several at-risk populations, including gay and bisexual men, blacks, Latinos, people who inject drugs and youth ages 13 to 24. Southern states, which account for more than one-half of HIV diagnoses, and transgender women also are receiving special attention. This is a solid plan that should help lower infection rates, encourage testing and enable the infected to seek treatment.

Each of us has a responsibility to know our HIV/AIDS status. We also have a duty to educate youth who may be unaware of the devastation wrought by HIV/AIDS before drugs made it possible for people to better manage the disease. Today and always, the message should be clear. Without medical care, HIV leads to AIDS, a deadly disease that has claimed the lives of 39 million people worldwide and more than 650,000 people in the United States since the epidemic began. Even with all of the medical advances, 14,000 people in the United States lose their lives to HIV/AIDS each year. It shouldn't take celebrities to remind us of the dangers of HIV/AIDS and the need to forestall its progress and find a cure. The threat is far from over, and we must all work together to prevent this killer from spreading.