I found out the other day that a close friend of mine was recently diagnosed with HIV/AIDS. He is a straight male.

When was the last time that anyone has read, seen or herd anything about the spread of HIV/AIDS among heterosexuals?

I'm just curious because it seems that the media seems to have put this on the back burner.


Please be respectful, he is like a brother to me.

It never stopped, like you said, it just got put on the back burner.
There are still groups who stay involved with what is going on with it, most
just don't care anymore till someone they know gets it.

was just reading about it yesterday

for the first time in thirty years the AIDS rate in Africa has actually gone down

they give George Bush's programs credit for saving millions of lives in Africa

unlike America he is considered a hero there

he has always been a hero to me...I am sorry to hear about your friend...

But why doesn't our government seem to be focusing on the problem here at home? Doesn't charity start at home?

like the Southpark episode where Cartman caught AIDS. he had a big charity event and no one showed. The doctor told him AIDS isnt popular anymore. Now its cancer

For the same reasons that you see hundreds upon hundreds of commercials for feeding the starving children in Africa when there are many thousand of starving children right here in the states.

A problem like that is much easier for people to digest when it doesn't hit too close to home.

I say until The USA can take care of the USA, we shouldn't be trying to get invovled in everybody else's business.

Aids, swine flue, cancer, war, poverty, etc, etc, where do you start?
Which one do you want to cure first?

When was the last time anyone heard of HIV/AIDS period? Sure there is still money going into it, but it isn't something people accept as well as cancer and the likes. My mum is HIV positive, sad that this country really doesn't care...even worse is they stopped caring far before she was tested positive. One of the many reasons I turned my back on this country and spit in the direction of your leaders.

I couldn't agree more

I'm not really sure what kind of focus you're seeking. Are you inquiring about programs or organizations that assist folks with HIV/AIDS or just continued education and awareness of it? Ultimately it boils down to better screening of blood products, which has been instituted, and a change in personal behavior (safe sex and IV drug use) I don't have kids, but I would imagine this subject has been incorporated in the sex/health education classes in school.

First of all, I would like to say, I am so sorry to hear about your friend. Yes, it is still out there.... couple with the rampant spreading of cancers and swine flu. Sometimes, I think this world is not a good place to live anymore. So many people are dying and are suffering from diseases that we never had much in the 60's. Very sad and unfortunate that now it is around the Globe.

that is just a matter of perception

in the 60's we still had polio

and before that smallpox

and before that the Black Plague

Very, very sorry to hear about your friend.

Here's a maybe new question to add....

Is your friend fortunate to have health insurance? There are treatments now than can prolong life/ stop the progression of the disease.

Just saying that in this "the greatest nation in the world" if you are sick and not insured (like myself) you are screwed...

AIDS is not he death toll is used to be...I hope and pray that your friend is one of the lucky ones who lives a long and healthy life after this devastating diagnosis.

i`m slowly but quietly starting to understand you fear

like it or not

Careful...that can be dangerous.

The world is still a beautiful place....

You make a very good point. My friend was helping an injured person at a car accident and got some blood on himself. The person that he was helping didn't even know that they had it.

How can you stop/prevent something that isn't known about after all we are a voyeuristic society.

I dont think it is all that much of an issue anymore, compared to in the past. It obviously is still an issue, and a massive one to people that catch it or are close to someone who has it. But compared to other STD's and diseases, relatively few heterosexual people in the western world catch it(although i dont really know the stats).

The media attention to it in the past was overkill, but it made everyone aware. I think most people are still well aware of what the disease is, and how you catch it. Im not sure that a whole lot more media attention would change anything.