|
|
NIGHTSPOTS
|
|---|
|
|
Peter Pointers
by Peter Pointers
2011-06-22
|
|
This article shared 1953 times since Wed Jun 22, 2011
|
|
June marks the 30th anniversary of the CDC's initial reporting of the disease that would eventually be known as AIDS. In 30 years, advances in prevention and treatment have led to dramatic improvements in the length and quality of life for those infected with HIV. But we are far from overcoming the disease completely.
The good news: According to UNAIDS, prevention efforts have resulted in a more than two-thirds decrease in the number of new HIV infections in the US since the height of the epidemic. In the late '80s, a person newly diagnosed with AIDS could only expect to live a year; but today, antiretroviral drugs can extend the life of a newly HIV-infected person by more than 50 years. An ongoing NIH study showed antiretroviral treatment of infected individuals also helps reduce HIV transmission to uninfected partners by up to 96%. So, while there is no cure, prevention—combined with early detection and treatments—has the potential of drastically reducing the number of new infections even further.
The bad news: HIV drugs are expensive. At $18,000 per year, and with several states tightening eligibility for AIDS drug-assistance programs, many Americans lack treatment. Additionally, prevention strategies are often ignored by those most at risk. While new infection rates drop for most of the population, rates for gay men are increasing, making them 44 times more likely to become infected than straight men, according to CDC estimates.
What can you do?
¢ Know your status. Frequent testing encourages non-infected people to stay that way and allows infected individuals to seek early treatment, benefitting them and their partners.
¢ Reduce your risk. Adopting safer sex practices and other risk reduction strategies is the best way to prevent transmission.
Be well,
Peter Pointers
Peter Pointers is an online, gay health educator and is assisted by a group of qualified health specialists who work as a team to answer your health questions. Check out Peter's Question/Answer forum at www.lifelube.org/experts.php for more pointers and to ask your own questions. |
|
|
|
This article shared 1953 times since Wed Jun 22, 2011
|
| ARTICLES YOU MIGHT LIKE |
|---|
| 
|  | HIV/AIDS activist Rae Lewis-Thornton on her new memoir, 'Unprotected'
2022-05-18
Emmy-winning HIV/AIDS activist, author, minister, political organizer, motivational speaker, life coach, jewelry designer and social media figure Rae Clara Lewis-Thornton's recently released book, Unprotected: A Memoir, is already a pre-release ...
| 
| | Five Worth Finding: Chocolate festival, lesbian sci-fi film, 'Smahtguy'
2022-05-16
—The Long Grove Chocolate Festival: The beloved Chocolate Festival will return to the historic streets and parkways of downtown Long Grove for the first time in three years, May 20-22. Chocolate lovers can experience so much—including ...
| 
| | WORLD Eswatini ruling, Toronto deaths, Greece, blood donations
2022-05-15
The High Court in Eswatini (formerly Swaziland) rejected an appeal for legal recognition by the local LGBTQ+-rights group Eswatini Sexual & Gender Minorities, citing "laws … prevailing in the kingdom" ...
| 
| | Judge blocks part of Alabama law criminalizing care for trans youth
2022-05-14
On May 13, U.S. District Judge Liles Burke blocked part of an Alabama law that made it a felony to prescribe gender-affirming puberty blockers and hormones to transgender minors, USA Today reported. ...
| 
| | PASSAGES Dr. David Ostrow dies at 74
2022-05-14
Longtime researcher Dr. David Gene Ostrow, of Chicago, died unexpectedly on Feb. 16 at home. He was 74. The cause of death was end-stage renal disease, according to the Tribute Archive website. Ostrow was born on ...
| 
| | Pro-choice coalition to rally May 14 in Chicago's Union Park
2022-05-13
-- From a press release - 'Rally for Abortion Justice,' part of a nationwide 'Bans Off Our Bodies' day of action will takes place in Union Park, 1501 W. Randolph St. on Saturday, May 14 at 9:30 a.m. The crowd may be 25,000 strong according to organizers. ...
| 
| | Judge: Dallas hospital must start gender-affirming treatment for trans youth
2022-05-12
In Texas, Dallas County Judge Melissa Bellan temporarily removed all barriers for transgender youth seeking medical treatments from Children's Medical Center Dallas—providing a major win for doctors fighting to restore ...
| 
| | Dance for Life returns to Auditorium
2022-05-12
-- From a press release - Chicago Dancers United (CDU), which supports the health and wellness of Chicago's professional dance community, announces the program for its 31st annual fundraiser, Dance for Life 2022, which takes place Saturday, August 13 at 6 p.m. ...
|
| | U.S. COVID-19 death toll exceeds 1 million
2022-05-12
One million Americans have now died from the coronavirus, according to an announcement President Joe Biden made May 12, according to ABC News. The number of deaths due to COVID-19 is now equivalent to the population ...
| 
| | LGBTQ Religious Archives Network holds 'AIDS, Activism and American Christianity' webinar
2022-05-12
LGBTQ Religious Archives Network (LGBTQ-RAN) held an "AIDS, Activism and American Christianity: A Conversation" virtual webinar on May 5. The event focused on Christian activism during the height of the HIV/AIDS crisis in the 1980s and ...
| 
| | U.S. Senate Republicans and one Democrat block abortion-protection bill
2022-05-11
On May 11, the U.S. Senate failed to advance a Democrat-led bill that would enshrine broad protections for legal abortion nationwide—a vote triggered by a leaked Supreme Court draft opinion that indicates Roe v. Wade will ...
|
| | HRC calls for passage of the Women's Health Protection Act
2022-05-11
-- From a press release - WASHINGTON - Today, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation's largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ+) civil rights organization, joined a growing number of organizations calling for the ...
|
| | Running squad 'Team to End AIDS' calls for participants to raise funds
2022-05-10
-- From a press release - (Chicago, IL) Over the last 19 years, TEAM TO ENDS AIDS (T2)—the only HIV charity fundraising marathon team in the Midwest—has raised more than $13 million for HIV/AIDS awareness and direct support for those living with ...
| 
| | Lightfoot, City Clerk Valencia announce partnership with UN Women
2022-05-10
-- From a press release - CHICAGO — Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot and City Clerk Anna Valencia announced a partnership with UN Women's Global Flagship Program, Safe Cities and Safe Public Spaces. The initiative responds to sexual violence against women and girls ...
|
| | Lightfoot announces a 'Justice for All Pledge' based on equity and access
2022-05-09
-- From a press release - CHICAGO — Today, Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot joined reproductive justice leaders to announce the Justice For All Pledge, in response to the leaked draft opinion by the majority of the Supreme Court of the United States ...
| | |
|
|
|
|
