Hoffman,Wagner,McComb,Quijada1

BellaHoffmanJakobWagnerKierraMcCombPaigeQuijada
EnglishIII
Conrad
1March2015
TheTestingofAIDSonVulnerablePeople
DidyouknowthatoneinsevenmenislivingwithHIVandunawareofhisinfection?
About1in4newHIVinfectionsisbetweenages1324.Mostofthesekidsdonotknowtheyare
infectedandarenotreceivingtreatment.AIDSstandsforAcquiredImmuneDeficiency
Syndrome.Aidsinsomewaysisinvolvedinachainofevents.AidsiscausedbyHIVandHIV
isavirusthatattackstheimmunesystemcells.Oncethisoccursthevirusisextremelyhardto
fightoff.Acontroversialtopichasbeenwhetherpharmaceuticalcompaniesshouldtest
experimentalAIDSdrugsonVulnerablepopulations.Althoughtherecanbeseriousissueswith
experimentalaids,weshouldcontinuetobetestingonvulnerablepopulationsbecause
First off, they have a drug that could potentially block the AIDS virus.Although
one patient said taking thepillsmadeMcCottrelldizzy,weak,andmadeherthrowup(Moore).
This is justonecasewherethe experimentaldrugshavehadsomeeffectsonpeople.Peoplemust
go into these kinds of things knowing these things are possibilities. Although one patient had
this unfortunate experience others said the drug works beautifully to prevent HIV from
destroying key cells of the immune system(Ritter).Wait till they make the actual thing, it will
work many wonders. This is a pillthatweshould beabletotestonmasspopulations.Theyhave
more Positivesthannegatives.AlsotheysayTheepilepsydrug,whichisnotthemarket.Blocks
an enzyme that the research identified as playing a key role in immune system attack(Ritter).

Hoffman,Wagner,McComb,Quijada2

Keep in mind these drugs are tested on human tissue! So why be afraid of them, they truly are
miracleworkers.TherearemanyprostotestingexperimentalAIDSdrugsonmasspopulation.
Many say that the funding for AIDShasbeen abigissuein findingthetreatment.People
start to question or give up not knowing if there will even be a treatment.WritingintheArticle
Devastating cuts to HIV program, researchers Chad Benoit andMariaSmithwrite,InJulythe
senate voted to cut $300 Million from the Global AIDS budget(Benoit and Smith). Benoitand
Smiths point shows that, many with AIDS have given up on treatments because there is
insufficient amounts of funds to even develop a treatment. On the other hand,manyresearchers
are still working on treatments. Obama has recently pledged 100 million dollars to help find a
cure in HIV. According to President Obamas speech he stated, On world AIDS daytwo,years
ago, i announced an additional $35 million for AIDS Drug assistance program, which helps
people pay for lifesaving medications(Anderson and Minshall). This provesthatalthoughthere
are many people who have lost hope in the treatment of AIDS there are still many people that
have a hope for treatment. There are many researchers and people like Obama, finding ways to
fund and help pay for aids treatments. Evidence shows that Obama created a first national
HIV/Aids strategywhichgiveseverygender,age,raceorsocioeconomicstatusachancetohave
enoughcaretolastalifetime.
BradHaresays,"EverybodyneedstobetestedforAidsatleastonce."Nowadaystesting
isaloteasier,quickerandmoreaccuratethanitusedtobe.Whichcanmakeitalotlessscary.
Themainagestobetestedarebetween15and65.It'simportanttogettestedevenifyoudon't
thinkyouhaveitbecauseyoucouldbeinfectedandnotknowit.Anotherwayoftestingcanbe,"
FourthgenerationHIV,itdetectsantibodiesandspecialproteinsonthevirusitself.Thesetests

Hoffman,Wagner,McComb,Quijada3

catchthevirusearlierthanantibodytestsbutarenotroutinelyusedyet.Therearemany
preventiontestsbutthemostefficientrightnowistheFourthgenerationHIVtest,whichhasnt
reallybeenreleasedyet.AlthoughthereothergoodtestssuchastheRapidtest,andtheAntibody
test.MostoftheHIVtestsareblood,urine,andsalivatests.Thetypeofpeopledoctorsandthe
governmentwantpeopletobetestedforAidsaresexuallyactiveadultsandothersatriskthatare
aroundpeoplethathaveAids.
Despitetheconsofthesedrugs,therearemoreprostooverpowerthem.Notonly
dotheyworkasadrugstillinthebetastage,hereismoneyinseveralfoundationsaroundthe
worldtohelpthembecomeafinalproductthatwillstopthisterribleAIDSepidemic.Everyone
shouldbeabletobetestedforAIDSandnothavetoworryaboutdying,nowthankstothese
drugs,thatwillsoonbethereality.DoctorsthinkeveryoneshouldbetestedforAIDSevenifthe
personisnotsexuallyactive.ExperimentalAIDSdrugsshouldbetestedontheworlds
vulnerablepublic.

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WorksCited
Ritter, Malcolm. "Drug Blocks HIV in Lab Study, Human Tests Planned."
Salinas Californian
.
19Dec.2013:n.p.
SIRSIssuesResearcher.
Web.26Feb.2015.
"President Obama Pledges $100 Million to Find Cure for HIV."
HIVPlusMag.com
. N.p., n.d.
Web.26Feb.2015.
Benoit, Chad, and Maria Smith. "Devastating Cuts to HIV Program."
University Wire
. 25 Sep.
2014:n.p.
SIRSIssuesResearcher.
Web.26Feb.2015.