I've been watching a lot of 80s and 90s movies (and listening to some music from that era lately) and I'm struck by the prevailing anxiety about HIV and AIDS (in the US). I think I was watching something ridiculous like Booty Call, and if I recall correctly the one girl made Jamie Fox's character go and get latex condoms because they prevent the spread of HIV or something (yet she never said she had it). This concern seems almost rare today in mainstream culture (not talking about sex ed here), except regarding the spread of AIDS in 3rd world countries which IMO is a related but separate issue. The advent of effective HIV-controlling drugs probably plays a role here.

When AIDS came out, everybody thought it was mostly for drug users and homosexuals. Then everybody thought anybody could get it and would get it. And now it seems to have gone back to being a disease that "somebody else" gets. I know that I have never met anyone from any walk of life with any connection to an HIV infected person at all, even if it is a distant connection.

Thoughts?

1/4/2009 12:14:01 PM

i'd have to agree somewhat thinking back to movies like kids.part of it is that with better sex ed/testing, increased use of protection and a decrease the use of drugs taken through needles we've slowed down the transmission of aids dramatically(at least in the us). the other thing is we've been kind if desensitized to the idea of having a deadly incurable disease" hell magic johnson is still alive and healthy , its not that big a deal".imho i think aids will become the new herpes

[Edited on January 4, 2009 at 12:33 PM. Reason : .]

1/4/2009 12:32:38 PM

it seems to be hard to get info on "NOT" being able to get AIDS

but it seems that the ability for a man to get HIV from a women through normal vaginal intercourse is slight

that's what I've gathered

that's why it's not epidemic to straight non-drug using peoples

that's why I too have "never met anyone from any walk of life with any connection to an HIV infected person at all, even if it is a distant connection."

[Edited on January 4, 2009 at 12:33 PM. Reason : .]

1/4/2009 12:33:03 PM

Quote :

"but it seems that the ability for a man to get HIV from a women through normal vaginal intercourse is slight"

this is an accurate statement, assuming neither partner has any open cuts on their genital areas.

1/4/2009 12:57:08 PM

Quote :

"that's why I too have "never met anyone from any walk of life with any connection to an HIV infected person at all, even if it is a distant connection.""

maybe people just aren't talking about it. There is definitely a stigma involved. Also, many people are unaware that they have it.

Quote :

"one in every five people living with HIV has not even had their infection diagnosed, let alone reported."

Source: http://www.avert.org/statsum.htm



[Edited on January 4, 2009 at 1:02 PM. Reason : d]

1/4/2009 1:01:20 PM

Quote :

"one in every five people living with HIV has not even had their infection diagnosed, let alone reported."

lol

how the hell do you compile that statistic

1/4/2009 1:09:48 PM

clairvoyance

1/4/2009 1:10:27 PM

thats about % what i got

I'm Big Business and i approved this message

1/4/2009 1:17:02 PM

Somewhere out there is a STD susceptibility graph. It shows M->W oral risk, W->M oral risk, etc. I dunno how accurate it is, but it was at least interesting. If anyone has it or has seen it please post.

1/4/2009 1:31:15 PM

I, too, have watched South Park

1/4/2009 1:32:26 PM

I don't do heroin; have gay butt sex; or fuck black girls. So i'm not that worried....

1/4/2009 1:43:47 PM

^ me too, so not worried.
^^ haha southpark on point yet again.

1/4/2009 1:45:04 PM

Quote :

"I, too, have watched South Park"

was just about to post that

1/4/2009 1:52:48 PM

Quote :

"When AIDS came out, everybody thought it was mostly for drug users and homosexuals."

Everyone was correct, even though it wasn't politically correct to say this publically.

Two people I went to high school with have died of AIDS, and I knew a few other people in my county that were HIV positive. I don't really know the details behind them, but I would imagine it was caught through intravenous cocaine usage.

1/4/2009 2:52:35 PM

I'm not just sure, I'm HIV positive.

1/4/2009 3:04:17 PM

[Edited on January 4, 2009 at 5:11 PM. Reason : ]

1/4/2009 5:10:03 PM

here is a chart showing HIV infection rates per exposure method - you can read there how this study was done:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiv#Transmission

per 10k exposures to an infected source:
Blood Transfusion 9,000
Needle-sharing injection drug use 67
Receptive penile-vaginal intercourse* 10
Insertive penile-vaginal intercourse* 5

These always struck me as being quite low.
A heterosexual female is twice as likely as the guy to contract, but that risk is still 10/10,000 ... 0.1%?

Based on the wikipedia wording...these are the chances based on the exposure rate to an infected source, so if you have to factor in whether or not the person is even infected, it would be lower. Am I missing something here?

1/4/2009 9:19:51 PM

Quote :

"I know that I have never met anyone from any walk of life with any connection to an HIV infected person at all, even if it is a distant connection."

I used to work with a guy who was HIV positive. I was when he finally told me because he was a really good guy.

1/4/2009 10:48:09 PM

Quote :

"Everyone was correct, even though it wasn't politically correct to say this publically."

yep.

as i recall the 90s, aids was much more of a scare than an epidemic.

1/4/2009 10:53:51 PM

You probably have contact with people who are HIV positive on a regular basis. Whether they wait on you at a drive thru, dance with you at a club, or sit next to you in a class. You just aren't aware of it.

I volunteered with an AIDS Service Org. for several years and I was shocked at the length of our client list and the walks of life that some of them came from.

You are probably more likely to get HPV or Herpes than HIV, but they aren't going to kill you in the long run.

1/4/2009 10:59:20 PM

I recall this epidemiology study about AIDS in our country. Most of it was pretty obvious stuff, but one interest aspect I pulled from the article was truck drivers using prostitutes, who contracted HIV from needle-drug use, who then passed it around the country to other prostitutes who used more drugs. Nothing too surprising, but still insightful.

1/4/2009 11:00:39 PM

^^Is it wrong that my initial reaction to someone hiv+ handling my food is ?

[Edited on January 5, 2009 at 1:46 AM. Reason : ?]

1/5/2009 1:45:44 AM

Quote :

"per 10k exposures to an infected source: Blood Transfusion 9,000"

So this means if you get a blood transfusion from someone with HIV, there's still a 10% chance you won't get it yourself? That doesn't quite seem right.

1/5/2009 3:16:32 AM

Quote :

"I know that I have never met anyone from any walk of life with any connection to an HIV infected person at all, even if it is a distant connection."

yes, yes you have

1. medicine today is a lot better than in the "Philadelphia" days
you could be sitting next to one of "them" and not even know it

2. have you cataloged every single person you know and asked them all if they have aids, and have you had them do thusly with their friends and acquaintances

to say "i've never met anyone with HIV" is like saying "i've never met an engaged man without his fiance present"
just because people ain't showin signs of it anymore and ain't talkin about it doesn't mean it ain't still out there

Quote :

"A heterosexual female is twice as likely as the guy to contract, but that risk is still 10/10,000 ... 0.1%? "

compared to the penis, the vagina is much more likely to receive the micro-abrasions/tears, and thats where you get your fluids

thats also why bottoms get it 8 times as often as tops and 5 times as often as women, because the anus rips/tears a lot more than the wang or the cooch

i mean, how many times have you had a really sore dick after fucking? it don't take the same kind of abuse as the vessel...

and thats the real reason why africa is so fucked up - for some reason the guys there LOVE dry vag
like, the prostitutes will sit in saltwater all day to rob their vag of its natural moisture
wild stuff...

(that and they look at condoms as if they're something straight from the devil himself or something)

as far as the percentages, they have always seemed low to me - it'd be interesting to see how that figure works out for other STI/STDs
i bet the herp has like a 1/1 ratio

1/5/2009 3:34:02 AM

Quote :

"So this means if you get a blood transfusion from someone with HIV, there's still a 10% chance you won't get it yourself? That doesn't quite seem right."

Yup, that's what it means.
HIV is really not as easily transmitted as you'd think. Sharing a dirty needle has less than a 1% transmission rate. The thing is, though, that if it does take hold, you're fucked.

1/5/2009 10:51:52 AM

1/5/2009 11:07:24 AM

just inject yourself with money, like magic johnson.

1/5/2009 12:10:51 PM

Quote :

"^^Is it wrong that my initial reaction to someone hiv+ handling my food is ?"

See:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Ff_6VsRuas

[Edited on January 5, 2009 at 12:19 PM. Reason : l]

1/5/2009 12:19:44 PM

yeah its just crazy how many people have HIV/AIDS but the infection rates per exposure seem so low

1/5/2009 3:35:14 PM

on a side note, most folks of European descent have a genetic resistance (not 100% total immunity though) to HIV, thus one could get HIV and your body completely destroys it. (ccr5 protein mutation prevents HIV from infecting cells)

the vastly decreased rate of infection in the US and the effectiveness of HIV anti-viral drugs has put HIV/AIDS out of the public mind for the most part.



^ people fuck, a lot, the rate of successful pregnancy per 'session' is also pretty low compared to what you think it is

[Edited on January 5, 2009 at 3:43 PM. Reason : s]

1/5/2009 3:41:06 PM

Quote :

"and thats the real reason why africa is so fucked up - for some reason the guys there LOVE dry vag"

And...there's a common misconception that having sex with a virgin will cure AIDS.

1/5/2009 3:42:21 PM

^ you mean the American Idea Discouraging Sex?

1/5/2009 3:44:08 PM

The N.C. Department of Health & Human Services estimates that as of Dec. 31, 2007, there are 33,000 individuals living with HIV disease in North Carolina. With a state population of close to 9 million, I wouldn't be caring about it either. That is like what 0.36% ? yeah....

1/5/2009 4:06:23 PM

oh badass, we don't need condoms anymore

I'm Big Business and i approved this message.

1/5/2009 4:08:11 PM

Quote :

"on a side note, most folks of European descent have a genetic resistance (not 100% total immunity though) to HIV, thus one could get HIV and your body completely destroys it. (ccr5 protein mutation prevents HIV from infecting cells) "

what ?.. link that please

1/5/2009 4:16:39 PM

yeah i need an injection of that shit

I'm Big Business and i approved this message.

1/5/2009 4:17:41 PM

Quote :

"People from some European populations carry a genetic mutation that prevents HIV from entering their white blood cells. O'Brien hypothesizes that this mutation, dating back 700 years, may have been a selective advantage during the bubonic plague, as it is today, with the onslaught of HIV."

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/library/10/4/l_104_05.html

We learned about it in Anthropology class. It's very interesting, but it is is not most Europeans. The breakdown is:

European Descent: 16%
African Americans: 2%
Ashkenazi Jew: 13%
Middle Eastern: 2-6%

Check out HIVgene.com for more info.

1/5/2009 5:38:41 PM

i wonder if it has something to do with drankin milk

cause the people with low #s ain't generally good at drankin milk

1/5/2009 10:35:41 PM

no, it's a select surface protein marker on the surface of t-cells

1/6/2009 11:40:22 AM