Responses to HIV and AIDS
In the 1980s, a new epidemicAn infectious disease which spreads rapidly to a large number of people in a short period of time. emerged that frightened the world. The cause of HIV and AIDS was not understood fully to begin with, and the British government took a long time to develop effective responses.
Causes
HIV stands for human immunodeficiency virus. This infection is transmitted by body fluids, often during unprotected sexSexual intercourse without the use of a condom or similar barrier contraception. but also through cuts and injecting drugs using shared needles. Immediately after infection, people often suffer mild flu-like symptoms. These pass, and for a period of time infected people might not know they are infected.
Without treatment, for months or years after a person is infected by the HIV virus, the virus continues to attack the person’s immune systemThe body's defence system against entry of any foreign body, including pathogens and agents such as pollen grains. The role of the immune system is to prevent disease.
AIDS stands for acquired immune deficiency syndrome. Without treatment HIV causes severe damage to the immune system, leaving the body's defences open to infection and illness. In these late stages of the virus the infection is categorised as AIDS.
Symptoms and impact
The condition was first diagnosed in California, USA, in 1981. However, scientists and doctors had observed it prior to that date.
Some of the symptoms that people living with HIV may experience are:
- pneumoniaA deadly disease that affects the respiratory system.
- weight loss
- sores on the skin
Many people experience no symptoms, though, and about 25 per cent of people with HIV do not know they have it. This means some people are not aware they are spreading the virus.
However, if the virus continues to attack a person’s immune system, common infections can become deadly. Without treatment, the virus can develop into AIDS. The average survival time without treatment is 11 years.
By 1995, around 25,000 people in Britain had been diagnosed as HIV positive. Around 12,000 of these had developed AIDS and around 8,500 had died. It is estimated that over 32 million people had died from AIDS worldwide as of 2019.
Responses
The responses to HIV and AIDS have changed over time.
1981-1985
During this time there was a lot of ignorance about the condition, its causes and how it was spread.
Question
What was the repsonse from the government, media and general public?
Response from government
- People thought that it was only gay men and drug users who were affected. This was because there was a lot of prejudice against these groups at this time. As a result, there was reluctance to fund research or treatment.
- The government gave magistrates the power to order the detention of AIDS patients in hospitals in certain circumstances - which spread fear that the condition could be passed on by close contact. This was reinforced by doctors wearing gowns and masks around patients.
Response from the media and public
- The Terrence Higgins Trust is an example of one of the charities that was set up early on to raise awareness and educate people about HIV and AIDS.
- The media’s response to the outbreak caused more fear and misunderstanding of HIV and AIDS. Newspapers and television documentaries gave the impression that the illness was only associated with gay men and drug users. This played a substantial role in creating negative attitudes towards the condition and the people who had contracted HIV and AIDS.
- Examples of public reaction included some fire service staff refusing to give mouth-to-mouth resuscitation for fear of contracting the virus, and some parents removing their children from a class where one pupil had acquired HIV from a blood transfusion.
1986-1995
Understanding about HIV and AIDS grew. There was more empathy for and acceptance of people living with HIV and AIDS in society.
Question
What was the repsonse from the government, media and general public?
Response from government
- The government funded free HIV tests and screened donated blood to detect the virus.
- In 1986, there was a large public information campaign to educate people called ‘Don’t Die of Ignorance’. Leaflets and television adverts explained how the virus was really passed on. This raised awareness and helped to reduce the spread, although there was some criticism that the highly effective campaign increased fear of the virus.
Response from the media and public
- Charities provided clean needles to drug users to help reduce the spread of the virus.
- In April 1987, Princess Diana opened the UK’s first purpose-built HIV and AIDS unit, at London’s Middlesex Hospital. This unit exclusively cared for patients infected with the virus. Princess Diana shook the hand of a man suffering with the illness. She did so without gloves, challenging the idea that HIV and AIDS are passed from person to person by touch. Because the moment was captured by photographers and journalists, this helped to spread awareness.
1996 onwards
In 1996, scientists discovered a new drug combination known as an antiretroviral treatment (or ART for short). The treatment doesn’t cure HIV, but it stops the virus from replicating in the body. It works by supressing it to very low levels and limiting the damage it can do to the immune system.
Question
What was the repsonse from the government, media and general public?
Response from government
- The government funded ART for people who were HIV positive.
- It started to relax its information campaigns.
Response from the media and public
- The media is now more supportive of the condition.
- Information and health services are now far more readily available.
- The ART drug combination has been effective in helping people living with HIV manage the condition. This has led to an increased acceptance and uptake of the drugs by the public.
- However, one unforeseen consequence of the effective treatment was a relaxation in government public information campaigns. A government report published in 2016 revealed concern that HIV cases were rising again, and it estimated that over 13,000 people living with HIV were undiagnosed.
