Annually on December 1st, we commemorate World AIDS Day and reflect upon our response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
This year we mark 40 years since the first five cases of what later became known as AIDS were officially reported and honor the more than 36 million who have died from AIDS-related illness globally since the start of the epidemic.
Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). It interferes more with the immune system, increasing the risk of developing common infections such as tuberculosis, as well as other opportunistic infections, and tumors which are otherwise rare in people who have normal immune function.
Since 1981, when the first case was diagnosed, medical science has progressed significantly. Experts say that today we are dealing with a chronic but separable disease. We live, they say, in the age when the person being treated with undetectable viral load does not transmit HIV. This is a huge success of modern medicine. According to the World Health Organization, the next global goal is diagnosis, treatment, iological suppression and good quality of life in 95% of all people living with HIV.
A recent poll conducted on behalf of the Hellenic Society for the Study and Treatment of AIDS shows, unfortunately, the ignorance that prevails in Greek society regarding the transmission of HIV. Proper public information has obviously subsided. Although the situation has improved from a medical point of view, stigma and social exclusion remain.
As the Minister of Health characteristically states: “Thanks to the progress of medicine, our fellow human beings living with HIV approach the life expectancy of the general population. It is our duty to ensure that they have the daily routine they deserve by fighting stigma and continue the fight against prevention.”