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The fight against HIV/AIDS is far from over. Since the first infection was brought to light in the United States in the 1980s it has killed over 22 million individuals and currently infects more than 35 million. AIDS is still the fifth largest cause of death to adults aged 25-44 and over half of all HIV positive individuals live on one continent, Africa, where it is decimating the economy and future generations. In developed countries treatments have staved off AIDS and prolonged the lives of HIV positive patients, but this has opened a new door to new problems as well.

The discovery of protease inhibitors and anti retroviral cocktails have given HIV positive patients new life. But their days are subjected to scheduled meds, preventative treatments, cross reactions, side effects, and fear of sharing their infection with loved ones. The most successful treatment regimen to date, HAART, costs more than $16,000 a year and has no long term guarantee. HIV mutates with such veracity that missing a couple of days of meds can result in drug resistance and a need to alter the cocktail. Some individuals don't respond to treatment at all, their viral strain is either mutated beyond attack or they are infected with multiple that help each other overcome the drugs. New ways of attacking HIV need to be developed and a better way of protecting the HIV positive population from other infections needs to be found.

Misinformation and miseducation has led some high risk groups to falsely think that AIDS has been conquered. The way Laurie Garrett put it in her book "Betrayal of Trust: The collapse of global public health" is that some people think that if they get it they can pop a pill and be ok. Also there is a lack of public health resources in the urbanized centers of American cities leading to increases in HIV infection rates, as well as other STDs, despite previous declines. Condom use is not adequately advocated. This is the same situation in Africa where a lack of resources as well as proper training result in the same situation. There needs to be a better public health system to educate the populace about protecting themselves, to test individuals so they do not unknowingly spread the virus, and to monitor high risk groups and determine how well the system is doing. A barrier in Africa is social sensitivities to talking about sex and the occurrence of spread from father to mother to child. In the United States the barrier is legislative funding of health care.

What is in store for the HIV/AIDS epidemic is the same as for all the other viruses, they will try to conquer us. Resistance is increasing as our apathy and miseducation towards prevention grows. New research is needed to gain an understanding of how to overcome their evolution. New treatments are needed to keep the populace healthy. Education is needed so people can protect themselves. HIV is an entirely preventable infection. It is the choices we have made that has allowed it to get a foot hold. We must now make the right choices to prevent it from growing further.

Learn more about this author, Alicia M Prater PhD.
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