It was only nearly four decades ago that HIV/AIDS have been isolated and discovered. Since then, the battle against this life-threatening disease has been a great challenge because there is still no effective cure yet. That is why it is important that we spread awareness to end the stigma against People Living with HIV (PLHIV) and show we are in solidarity in ending AIDS and AIDS-related discrimination.
This year as we observed the World AIDS Day on 1 December, The Department of Health (DOH) and the Philippine National AIDS Council (PNAC), spearheaded the observance of World AIDS Day with the theme, "End Inequalities. End AIDS. End Pandemics.”
But what is AIDS? AIDS stands for Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome and is actually the most severe phase of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. HIV is a virus that attacks the body’s immune system with symptoms occurring within 2 to 4 weeks after infection. Possible symptoms include the following: fever, chills, rash, night sweats, muscle aches, sore throat, fatigue, swollen lymph nodes, and mouth ulcers. When infected individuals do not get immediate treatment, they typically progress through three stages with AIDS as the terminal stage. People with AIDS have such badly damaged immune systems that they are prone to acquiring opportunistic infections, such as pneumonia and tuberculosis among many others.
The most effective way of knowing whether you are infected with HIV is to get tested. Fortunately, there are already private and public clinics that offer free HIV test screening as part of the government’s campaign in ending AIDS.
It is only due to ignorance around AIDS that our society is subjected to fear, panic, and stigma. Together, let us hope that one day we can achieve an AIDS-free society.
Written by: NO I Sean Frances P. Barredo
References:
DOH, PNAC SPEARHEADS WORLD AIDS DAY 2021. Retrieved from https://doh.gov.ph/press-release/DOH-PNAC-SPEARHEADS-WORLD-AIDS-DAY-2021
ORIGIN OF HIV & AIDS. Retrieved from https://www.avert.org/professionals/history-hiv-aids/origin
About HIV. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/hiv/basics/whatishiv.html
