December 1st is World AIDS Day
AIDS is a virus that attacks the body at its very core: it’s DNA. The AIDS strain implants itself in the DNA of living cells. It allows the cells to live long enough to replicate, and then it degenerates them until they die. When large quantities of infected cells exist, large parts of the human body die all at once. When these cells are responsible for sustaining life, their demise often means the death of the person.
AIDS has been given the reputation as one of the most destructive pandemics in history. The disease was first reported in the U.S. over 30 years ago. Since that time, it has claimed the lives of more than 25 million people. That’s the equivalent of wiping out nearly every major city in the United States. These devastating numbers have called the public to act. World AIDS day was created to not only acknowledge the destruction that AIDS has played to our communities, but also to increase awareness of its disease. The more aware you are of the disease, the more careful you will be to (1) avoid getting it, or (2) avoid spreading it.
A truly scary statistic to consider is that nearly one in five people that have HIV don’t know it yet. They haven’t gotten tested and therefore can’t prepare early to fight the disease. Were they to know about its presence, they could truly take preventative measures to keep from spreading it. Early detection and treatment can help slow down the virus in a person’s body, making it virtually undetectable to modern tests. No official cure has been created as of yet, though several organizations are working constantly to find the cure.
The World Health Organization declared the theme of these World AIDS Days as “Getting to zerio: zero new HIV infections. Zero discrimination. Zero AIDS related deaths.” This theme was implemented at last year’s celebration and will continue through until 2015. If every person were to understand the dangers of AIDS, they could do a lot to make this theme a reality. The key is getting the word out about it.
Help spread the world about World AIDS Day. Don’t let another year go by without helping your friends and family learn more and find out if they carry the disease. We need to know if we have it for the betterment of our friends, families, and communities.
