Has public perception of the epidemic changed?Do people think AIDS is under control?
I think the perception has changed in a way that is both good and bad. It’s good because the public does not fear HIV-positive people. Prior to the discovery that AIDS was a sexually transmitted disease, HIV patients were isolated from friends and family fearful of catching the disease. People have realized it is safe to be around HIV-positive patients. Another perception that has changed is the view that HIV-patients are frail, and that an HIV diagnosis is a death sentence. Now since you see people with HIV who still appear healthy, people no longer associate HIV with death. My concern is that people don’t see HIV as a crisis anymore, so they are more lax about protecting themselves. My biggest concern is young adults who have never lived in a world without AIDS. When I was 25, AIDS was just emerging, and we were more cautious. Young people today have never known a world without HIV, and don’t protect themselves against it. The population under 25 accounts for 50%of all new AIDS diagn
