Rather disturbing news from the Center for Disease Control (CDC) shows that over one million Americans (approximately 1.1 million) are living with HIV/AIDS.
Some good news is that research is showing that the number of people who do not know they are infected has dropped from 25% to 21%.
Education and testing resources are one of the key reasons more people are being tested.
HIV/AIDS is till more prevalent in black Americans, both male and female, and in gay men.
Various theories abound as to why that is.
Some attribute the resurgence of ecstasy in gay clubs, that causes the user to abandon protection (condoms) that he would normally use.
The subject of "being on the down low" (or the DL) has been around now for several years, particularly in the black community. This is a term used for (generally) black men who have the outward appearance of being straight, but have secret relationships with other men and feel unable to be honest about their orientation.
Author J.L. King spoke on the Oprah show about this lifestyle and wrote about it in his book "On the Down Low: A Journey into the Lives of 'Straight' Black Men Who Sleep with Men".
Of course, the down low lifestyle is certainly not unique to black men, although King asserts that being gay, particularly in the black community, is seen as unacceptable and he believes this has directly lead the secrecy attached to being on the down low. He tells Oprah that unsuspecting wives and girlfriends are being exposed to the HIV virus in huge numbers and the down low lifestyle is partly to blame. He also says that condom use is low.
Others argue that education and awareness has been lacking in the black community and more emphasis should be placed on these factors. Community leaders have urged pastors and church leaders to be more willing to talk about this disease.
The most regrettable thing about HIV/AIDS is that it is preventable. And no matter what our color or sexual orientation, the most important factors of education, awareness and most importantly, personal responsibility are how we prevent this disease.
For more information on HIV/AIDS, check out the fact sheets and information section at the Center for Disease Control's website at http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/resources/factsheets/
For testing centers near you, click here : http://www.hivtest.org/
For support, call the National AIDS hot line at 1-800-342-AIDS
HIV/AIDS is not curable but it IS treatable! Testing and early intervention is crucial!
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That Seems to be pretty high number. We are supposed to be a great country but news like this scares me. That and the rising of other stds is almost epidemic. When one in five people have an STD something is wrong with society. It's not just the Governments job to deal with this all of us need to teach our children morals so they don't end up a statistic.
June 8, 2012 - 8:25pmThis Comment
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October 22, 2008 - 8:20amRegards, Richardson
how long does ecstasy stay in your system
This Comment
Thanks for the share Susan.
I remember as a teenager growing up there were two people I was in close contact with that were suffering from HIV/AIDS.
The first story, I was in grade school, maybe 7th grade, when there was a younger gal who was maybe in the 5th grade that was rumored to be HIV positive. She ended up telling everyone that she indeed was HIV positive as the rumors surfaced. At the time, no one was really informed on the dangers or the ways that HIV was transmittable, all we knew is that it was a deadly disease. Sad to say, she was treated very differently by her peers after the confession. I, on the other hand, never treated her differently and tried to make others aware that she wasn't contagious as a flu virus. This story has a happy ending. She in turn actually did not have the virus and is living a happy and fulfilling life. She is now married and has two children.
For more information on how HIV and AIDS are transmitted, check out this website provided by Aids.gov http://aids.gov/basic/.
The sad story is that there was another gal that I knew and she was a few years older than me at the time but she was only 17. I became aware that she had full blown AIDS when she appeared to have open wounds on her face. She was part Chinese and German, beautiful girl.
She shared her story with me. She was actually raped and molested as a young child from her Uncle that had contracted the virus intravenously through drug abuse. I only had the opportunity to know her for about 8 months before she passed away from the virus before her 18th birthday. Unfortunately, she didn't have access to the opportunities that are available now for HIV/AIDS patients and she had no family and no insurance. She did touch a lot of lives at her young age though and as a young teenager myself, I remember gathering money from local businesses and neighborhoods to bury her since she had no family. I still visit her grave from time to time. It is amazing how someone can touch you so much in a short period of time.
October 4, 2008 - 10:21amThis Comment