Posts Tagged ‘Vigilance’
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.
Swine flu epidemic moves closer to a pandemic
Swine flu cases continue to increase. The WHO have upgraded the pandemic level warning to 5, one step short of calling it “imminent”. In Mexico, schools and businesses have closed until at least 6 May. In the US, about 100 schools have closed due to the rise in potential swine flu. In the UK, one school has closed for a week. Businesses in Mexico have suffered due to the shut-downs and travel restrictions. This can only worsen the global recession crisis.
Though a flu pandemic is a potentially serious crisis, the world is more prepared than it has been in the past. So far, the virus appears to be responding to anti-viral therapy. Nevertheless, there is always concern that the virus may mutate, which would make it more virulent.
Are we overreacting to this new strain of the flu? Or, could it be another SARS-like epidemic? Whatever the case, vigilance is necessary, including measures to reduce the spread of the virus. We should be grateful for the fact that the illness is still treatable at this stage.
