•  WHY DO PEOPLE STILL GET HIV?

The HIV pandemic is more than two decades old, and yet an estimated 40,000 people in the United States still test positive every year. At The Body's "Choosing Your Meds" forum, one of our experts and some readers have been involved in a heated conversation about why so many people continue to be infected with HIV. We highlight some of the posts below.


The Original Post
Dr. David Wohl, an expert in our "Choosing Your Meds" forum who often raises provocative issues in his responses, starts the discussion with this comment to a person who was recently diagnosed with HIV.


Response #1: Disappointment
In reply to Dr. Wohl's comment, another person writes: "I was a bit disappointed by your response. ... Even if his infection was the outcome of a particularly bad decision, your response seemed to be somewhat blind to the unfortunate intricacies of human nature that perhaps none of us understand."


Response #2: Blame
"I know it is not your fault I gave myself HIV," writes a forum visitor named Larry, "but I lay some blame on the drug companies for pushing the message with young, hot, healthy-looking guys subliminally saying that HIV is just a manageable condition. And some blame on the medical community for not telling the big drug companies to cut out this crap!"


Response #3: Anti-Blame
"It's all too easy to cast blame, and I strongly believe that the pharmaceutical industry is unfairly impugned by medical and media commentators alike," another reader replies. "Our culture is obsessed with casting blame -- this is unhealthy and entirely counter-productive. Yes, the pharma industry has issues, and yes, it would be nice if these companies operated in an entirely altruistic fashion, but that is not the nature of the capitalist world in which we live."


Response #4: Personal Perspective
And finally, in this emotional post, Larry talks further about why he got HIV, how he's coped with his diagnosis, and what he thinks could have been done to help him avoid infection in the first place. "I became addicted to the danger, the allure of doing something I shouldn't be doing," he writes. "The adrenaline rush was intense and helpful in making me forget the pain and reality of getting older. It also was a drug used to dull the pain of abuse as a child."

•  CURES, PROGNOSES & LIVING WITH HIV

Why Should a Drug Company Want to Cure HIV?
What incentive is there for a pharmaceutical company to discover a cure for HIV? Won't they make more money if they just keep selling the meds they currently sell?


Questions From an Anti-Treatment HIVer
For the 13 years since my diagnosis, I've avoided HIV meds -- in fact, I've never had a CD4 count or viral load test taken. What can I expect to happen during the next few years? What should I do to prepare for the end?


How Far Have We Come Since Philadelphia?
I watched the 1993 movie Philadelphia with Tom Hanks, and being recently diagnosed with HIV myself, I'm worried about my future. My CD4 count is 750 and my viral load is 1,000, but my doctor -- a general practitioner -- says I'll probably live for only another 12 years at most. Is this true? How far have we come since Philadelphia came out in theaters?

•  HIV DISCLOSURE

Hiding Status While on Treatment
Nobody knows I have HIV. Because of my high viral load, my doc wants me to start taking meds. If I do, how difficult will it be to continue hiding my diagnosis?


A Difficult Disclosure: Telling Your Wife
How do I tell my wife that I've just been diagnosed with HIV? I'm not even sure how I got it.

•  HIV TRANSMISSION

Dr. Lorraine Day: Crazy or Correct?
Dr. Lorraine Day, who was once a surgeon at San Francisco General Hospital, says you can potentially get HIV from just about anything. She says the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lies about HIV risks. Do you think she has a point?

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