An Unusual Case In My State

[Raffine]

This ain't 1985.

I would imagine (hope?) most people who are HIV+ and working would be on the new HIV medications - which dramatically reduce the amount of virus present in their systems. Thanks to these medications many of these folks test as 'HIV undetectable', meaning the HIV virus isn't readily detectable in their blood.

This is how HIV+ women can now have HIV- babies.

I think to get HIV from someone who is being successfully treated you'd just about have to eat their brain. 

On the otherhand, the sharp rise in  cases of Tuberculosis around the U.S. might be something to think about next time you see some fast food worker coughing on your Big Mac. 

[ghouck]

The price of those medications makes them available to a small portion of the people that need it. Notice Magic Johnson isn't talked about as being HIV+ anymore? I was speaking with someone at work that said there was some treatment for Hep C that was something like $30,000 a year and took a couple years to complete successfully, , and they said the "good" treatment for HIV costs much more. This was a doctor that was saying it, , but not a REAL doctor, , but rather one that couldn't work anywhere but a prison. They make about the same money as me, they actually make LESS than some of the MAINTENANCE workers. They could have been talking out their rectal cavity.

[ulthar]

This was a doctor that was saying it, , but not a REAL doctor, , but rather one that couldn't work anywhere but a prison ... They could have been talking out their rectal cavity.

Interesting persuasive style.  You trashed your own "Appeal to Authority."

I gotta give a karma bump for that...

[RCMerchant]

I don't worry about it. I could worry about it...or about getting in a car accident,getting struck by lightining,being bit by a poisonious spider, carbon monoxide poisoning,having faulty wiring burn down my house,nuculear war, being murdered in my sleep, or any other unforeseen way we all could die. I don't fear death anymore. The shadow of death is everywhere. I try very,VERY hard to try and cope with it,as a person very near and dear to me is dying from Hepatitus as I type. Her liver and kidneys are shutting down....and the doctor has already said her time is limited. I HAVE to try to be upbeat....because if I start going into depression mode, I won't be of any use to her. I want to make her time here left as enjoyable as possible. I think I may be in denial of the reality of the situation as well.

[Raffine]

The price of those medications makes them available to a small portion of the people that need it.

I work at an agency that advocates for people with serious medical problems and I'm pretty familiar with the situation. These drugs are criminally expensive, but are usually covered by health insurance and Medicaid. There are also programs like the Ryan White Foundation to get the medication free or at a greatly reduced cost to uninsured/low income people.

These drug programs also were mind boggling complex at first (10 to 20 pills a day) but now many involve only one or two pills a day.

Unfortunately there are people in the U.S. who don't have access to the drugs, and millions of people over the world who do without mainly because of cost. South Park did a brilliant take on this recently when Cartman gets AIDS and the gang goes to visit Magic Johnson to see how he keeps so healthy. Turns out - the cure for AIDS is to have massive amounts of money!