AIDS (Acute Ignorance Developed Syndrome) Get tested for HIV As we grow up and reach an age of awareness of the

world in which we live we have a duty to ourselves to live healthily, and seek contentment, fulfilment, peace and happiness. This responsibility must include those people we love and cherish. Lifetime happiness is more than ones personal karma. It is realised through sharing a life with a partner. When with a partner, it feels good to share our aspirations and inmost emotions and to exist as much as is possible in a state of purity within that special relationship. We all want to give our best to the person we love man or woman, girlfriend or boyfriend and we owe them truthfulness and sexual well-being. Many diseases are hidden from us. Often it is the most devastating ones that we are least aware of, at least until it is too late. Viruses work as stealth agents sabotaging our immune system. Eventually, the immune system is so worn out that we cannot even repel everyday infections. Today, medicines are available to prevent the havoc that this can cause. So why do we put off testing our blood for HIV and sexually transmitted infections? Is it because we are afraid to share the consequences with a soul-mate? HIV and other sexual transmitted diseases often present with late problems that can produce knock-on effects such as

infertility or increased risk of co-infection or cancer. It is important to be aware that any action can produce later consequences. We should take care for that lack of knowledge before considering taking care of the real person we love. Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) causes AIDS (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome). HIV itself does not kill a person it merely makes them susceptible to infections and cancers that can lead to death. The origin of the virus has been traced to a related chimpanzee virus that probably entered the human population through preparation of Bush Meat. Like many viruses, it was able to cross the species barrier and found a way of surviving and multiplying in human blood cells called CD4 cells. (The recent influenza A swine flu is another example of how new diseases can emerge and then rapidly spread round the world in a pandemic.) It is unfortunate that HIV was presented as such a stigmatised and dirty disease since much ignorance now surrounds HIV. Many people today, for example, are unaware that with current treatments the prognosis for HIV is better than diabetes. This heart-warming fact should be made known to all those who shy away from being tested or who are living in denial of their diagnosis. Medicines for this disease (known as anti-retrovirals or ARVs) can stop the virus from multiplying and enable you to live a full and active life and keep your loved one safe from being infected. Here are some facts, and if you wish to question these you can easily find answers using a simple Internet search.

1/ Dont hide and live a sad and lonely existence. Anyone worried of their status should consult a doctor and get tested. Treatment is available. Delaying the treatment can have a detrimental effect on your health. 2/ HIV is transmitted through blood or direct sexual contact. You cannot get HIV from a toilet seat or by kissing or by eating with friends and family. 3/ No one has ever caught the virus by sitting at the same table with an HIV Positive person. Most likely you would not know unless he/she tells you. Nor will you catch the virus by shaking hands or sharing a hug. 4/ Being on ARVs slows down the growth of the virus in the Blood. With treatment you can expect to live healthily for much longer than was the case. Most likely you will die from old age (unless you get hit by a bus or any car fatal accident). 5/ Research has shown that in a HIV discordant couple (i.e. where the HIV Positive person is with an HIV negative partner) there is virtually no risk of transmission if the infected person is on medication with a Viral Load that is fully suppressed. It is a duty of us all to consider our health status not only to maintain our body in a healthy state for yourself but for the one we love. Dont let yourself pass away to ignorance, be confident that professional doctors are there to help you regain confidence and live longer.

I am a documentary film director with an interest in HIV and have travelled in Eastern Africa where I saw several projects, some heart warming and others more desperate. I now live in Thailand and wish tell the people who believe they could be at risk to get tested, and to trust your health system as a highly competent system, with well-qualified doctors in HIV medicine. This paper has been proof read by Dr Samuel H Allen FRCP, and amended where needed to make all fact sure for the knowledge of those who need to know. For those who would like to ask more, please feel free to email me Hignor_Vance@yahoo.com