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HEALTHWATCH

HIV/AIDS

Responding to HIV/AIDS Must Be Team Effort

By James Allen and Patrick Sammon

The HIV/AIDS drug cocktail has saved hundreds of thousands of lives in the United States and around the globe, but after the U.S. death rate fell in the late '90s, many people mistakenly thought the disease was defeated. At best, the current situation can be called a standoff. As time progresses, the disease will evolve to counter these medical advances, so pharmaceutical companies will have to develop new drugs to combat drug resistant strains of HIV. In the meantime, individuals at risk for HIV cannot become complacent.

They must take necessary precautions to prevent transmission of the disease. Unfortunately, drug innovations have triggered complacency in some individuals, leading them to engage in riskier sexual behavior. As a result, infection rates are on the rise. CDC figures confirm that HIV infection rates among a number of demographic groups are increasing. The figures, which report new diagnoses of HIV infection, are based on 1999-2002 data from 29 states and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Source

Striking increases in new diagnoses have occurred in a number of the groups. Those over the age of 45, Hispanics, and men engaging in homosexual sex saw the largest increases. While Hispanics were the racial group seeing the greatest upsurge in HIV diagnoses, blacks still accounted for the largest number of new diagnoses in sheer numbers. In a troubling sign for the gay community, homosexual sex among men was the mode of transmission that had the most new diagnoses and the mode that saw the greatest increase over the period.

To combat HIV and the rise in infection rates, the private sector and government should work together to develop useful solutions. Also, individuals must take personal responsibility for their behavior. Health care providers, including pharmaceutical companies, must continue innovating to develop even better treatment options. To make sure this happens, the government response to HIV/AIDS must recognize the importance of free market principles. After all, innovation and improvement will not happen from government alone; they also depend on private industry.

To ensure that innovation continues, the government must work to protect the intellectual property rights of pharmaceutical companies. Drug importation and weak patent protections will erode the profit incentives that pharmaceutical companies have to continue research and development on the next generation of life-saving HIV/AIDS medication. For their part, pharmaceutical companies need to continue looking for ways to improve access to their medications.

No matter what government or the health care industry does to respond to HIV/AIDS, individuals have to take personal responsibility for their actions. People must realize that although pharmaceutical companies have developed drugs to battle HIV for a certain period of time, there is still no cure for HIV. Accordingly, everyone should avoid risky sexual behavior and IV drug use.

Gay men, who account for the greatest number of new HIV diagnoses, ought to be particularly careful, reducing their number of sexual partners, always using condoms, and avoiding the use of recreational drugs. Crystal methamphetamine (also known as crystal meth or Tina), a drug most commonly used among gay men, poses a particularly strong danger. Crystal meth reduces people's inhibitions, increases the chances they will not use condoms, and increases the likelihood they will engage in group sex. Essentially, the drug encourages some of the riskiest sexual behavior. If gay men want to reduce their HIV infection rate, they must not use this dangerous drug.

In addition, all sexually active individuals must get tested for HIV frequently, so they can take safeguards to avoid infecting others with the virus. Our society's response to HIV/AIDS must involve a shared responsibility between government, pharmaceutical companies, the entire health care industry and individuals. This coordinated strategy is the most effective way to battle this deadly disease.