HIV
prevention promoted
By
Michelle Zanarosa
On-line Forty-Niner
A
new HIV prevention method has emerged earlier
this year that can indefinitely change the
programs and types of funding that have
traditionally been practiced throughout
the nation according to the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention.
The
new program involves encouraging HIV-positive
people not to engaging in high-risk behavior,
such as intravenous drug use and sex without
condoms, which further the spread of the
disease.
Therapy
for HIV positive people includes aid in
mental health, drug abuse, self-esteem and
loneliness that is experienced by many who
are infected.
A
great deal of funding has been decreased
from AIDS research and HIV prevention due
to President Bush's order to take away $145
million from research on important diseases
in order to spend it on buying and testing
an anthrax vaccine. Loss of funding will
also be taken away from traditional prevention
methods like condom distribution and community
workshops due to the installation of the
new "prevention for positives"
campaign.
According
to the California Office of AIDS, 900,000
Americans are currently infected with HIV
and more than 78,000 men, women and children
have died of AIDS in California within the
past 22 years. Studies show that of the
estimated 80,000 infected Californians,
16,000 are unaware of their status. To date,
there have been 4,346 known cases of AIDS
in Long Beach.
Cal
State Long Beach offers a Sexual Awareness
Workshop twice a week that covers education
on all the STDs, pap smears and breast and
testicular exams, as well as HIV testing
held two to three times a month in conjunction
with Long Beach Public Health.
"We
are on a college campus and there's probably
risky behavior. The ones [students] that
do find out that they are positive, are
met with a whole series of medical, social
and psychological intervention services
that they need," said Lawrence Harvey,
clinical coordinator of Student Health Services.
HIV-positive
CSULB students are then referred to the
Preventive Health Clinic where health education
is given to those infected and their families.
Individual education is given on topics
of prevention, the immune system, transmission,
options, food safety and safer sex.
Some
students still feel as though there is not
enough AIDS education and awareness on the
CSULB campus.
"I
remember last year they gave out condoms,
but I do not think that is enough. They
should have more signs about where to get
condoms and place them all around the campus
like in bathrooms as well as have more discussions
on the topic," said Carlos Solis, a
sophomore philosophy major.
There
are more than 600 state-funded HIV testing
sites in California that offer free HIV
tests to anyone 12 years old and up as well
as many other private test sites and community
clinics such as Planned Parenthood. Also,
in an effort to fight HIV, Gov. Gray Davis
proclaimed June 27, 2003 as "California
HIV Testing Day."
The
National Institute of Health announced that
other medical methods are also being used
in the form of antiretroviral therapy, which
attempts to reduce viral loads in HIV-infected
people to reduce their ability to pass on
the disease to others as well as reduces
the likelihood of gaining HIV infection
to those who have had, either shortly before
or soon after, a possible exposure to HIV.
No
tests have proven the effectiveness of the
antiretroviral although some data suggest
possible effectiveness.
All
efforts, including education, counseling
and medicine, seem to be working as studies
show that California statistics show the
number of cases steadily decreasing and
the case fatality rates falling from 96
percent before 1983 to 67 percent in 1993
and finally to 8 percent in 2002.
"To
me the thing that is most important is keeping
awareness, although we have better medicine
these days, the disease has not gone away.
Young people need to learn about safe practices
and keep themselves protected. AIDS may
perhaps seem a little less scary but we
are a long way from having beaten the disease,"
said Margaret Merrifeild, a professor in
the department of chemistry and biochemistry.
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