AIDS/HIV
Aids Dissidents
- redback
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» redback - Not all birds are sparrows
In response to Some believe that HIV does not cause AIDS posted by Bee888:
"...Not everyone with HIV has AIDS, but everyone with AIDS has HIV."
It wasn't intended to be the main point. I understood people were thinking the 2 problems were totally unrelated when they both relate to attacks on one's (now compromised) immune system.
I was involved in this back in the early 80s when it first reared its ugly head in the public health arena in Australia. They tried to label it by categories A, B and C until they realised the progression of the illness wasn't always going to be that simple. (I'm not particularly sure someone who moves from being (asymptomatic) HIV to AIDS also retains the HIV diagnosis in any meaningful way)
Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome is a cluster of problems. Each problem as I understand it, is not necessarily unique to AIDS. They used to call them opportunistic diseases. For example, a person who is HIV-positive and develops cervical cancer, is probably going to be diagnosed with AIDS. BUT not all women with cervical cancer have HIV.
Stigma is a terrible thing and the total AIDS-related ignorance of the 1980s was sad to see. But I'm coming from a place where stigmatising the sufferer never entered my head. It's actually against the law here to treat someone differently on a belief they have AIDS - whether or not that belief is true.
-- posted by redback
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