Posts Tagged ‘Antiviral Therapy’
Irresponsible BBC reporting on the state of HIV therapy
I found the latest article on HIV and STDs on the BBC website extremely irresponsible and offensive. I realise that the point of the article was to encourage those with HIV to see a doctor and be treated, but the message does not come across that way.
It did state that the main focus of prevention is on the use of condoms. But this statement was made at the beginning. For the rest of the article, it was never mentioned again. In fact, the writer seemed to imply that condoms were completely unnecessary. The story’s focus was on how good anti-HIV treatment has become – so good, that the person could be considered no longer infectious. Because of this, the likelihood of the person passing on the virus was close to nil.
Never mind the fact that people have been shown to pass the virus on to their partners. The article passes this off as few and far between. Should this complacent attitude be what experts are advising?
There is no cure for HIV at this time, but antiviral therapy has helped to slow down the spread of the disease. Because the epidemic has been stopped, is this reason to say that we can all relax our vigilance?
It is no wonder that the younger generation shows no fears about sexually transmitted diseases.
Update on swine flu
The swine flu has been spreading, with more deaths in Mexico and more confirmed cases in the US and Canada. There are increasingly more suspected cases reported in Mexico and this has spread to other countries as well, including Spain, Israel, New Zealand and Australia. These cases have been reported in tourists who recently visited Mexico.
The WHO have not increased their pandemic alert level, but they have issued travel advisories. Because of this, there is concern in the travel industry and shares have plummeted.
Yet, so far, there have been no deaths outside of Mexico. The international cases have been comparatively mild and all have responded to antiviral therapy. The deaths in Mexico may be attributed to the fact that it is more severe and many have been unable to receive treatment. A British woman in Mexico reported that she was very ill and could not get out of bed. However, she was unsure if she had the swine flu. Information, according to her, was rather scanty.
