World AIDS Day

[Lara Mills]

It's World AIDS Day! It's been 30 years since the first World AIDS Day took place, and we've come a long way since then.

The wonders of science mean that many living with HIV can go on to lead full and healthy lives. It's not the death sentence it used to be. But people still believe the myths about the virus. They think that you can catch it from hugging someone who is HIV-positive or even sharing food with them.

You can't. So why is HIV still the big problem that it is? A lot of it is because people aren't getting tested for it. They don't recognise the symptoms or don't show any, so they won't get tested for it. Knowing your status could save your life.

My question for you today is do you know your status? Have you ever been tested for HIV/AIDS? Vote in the poll.

[FranknStein]

In a publicity piece /photo op Leo Varadkar did one of those rapid HIV tests yesterday.
Reasonably regular testing is important, as if someone is unfortunate enough to contract HIV, the earlier treatment is commenced the better,as opposed to someone wandering around undiagnosed for years.
Also people being properly treated will be at very low infectivity and so have a very low to miniscule chance of passing it on to anyone else.