Well, some of you guys know I had a job change. Part of my job is to change primary care physicians for people who request them. Today I received a report from a county hospital system, and on that short report, there were two people changed their primary doctor to one that specialized in HIV/AIDS (and that doctor doesn't accept anybody else, so it's not your typical family doctor). I've not even worked for this place for a month, and I already saw three people admitted to the HIV/AIDS department.
Among them one was only in his 20's. I don't know this person..., but when I read his medical record, an surreal feeling rushed within me. I wanted to know why a young man in his prime must face this adversary; I wanted to know how he contacted with this devastating disease, and I wanted to know what he felt when his doctor announced his diagnosis.
I hope this post would bring forth an AIDS awareness. I did a little research and found this data visualization tool from CDC (Center for Disease Control):
http://gis.cdc.gov/grasp/nchhstpatlas/main.html?value=atlas
There is no latest date for Year 2015 and 2016 yet. The general trend is the case of HIV diagnosis has been going steady throughout the years CDC had obtained official data (though it irks me some data don't adds up, like the sum of diagnosis broken down by genders don't add up to the number broken down by age group for year 2008 and 2009).
Seeing the Year 2014 figure is the first year that HIV diagnosis has increased, and given more people are at ease with their sexuality, it alarms me that there is a possibility that 2015 and 2016 figures could be on the increase as well.
The highest risk group remains to be men who have sex with other men. This group account for ~75% of all HIV diagnosis. Anal sex is a very efficient way to spread STDs. So the lesson here is: Play safe!
There is no reason people's comfortable level with their sexuality should automatically translate into higher HIV/AIDS rate. Indeed, the rate of HIV/AIDS can be kept at bay if people can talk honestly and comfortably about the importance of getting tested. In fact, according to the study, almost 1 in 6 (15.8%) HIV carriers don't even know they are infected1. Don't be shy! Talk to your partner!
While I think it's nice more people are coming to term with their sexuality, but at the same time, seeing the advent of cruising via Grindr and Craigslist personal ads..., I highly doubt it would be the last time I had to change a young man's primary doctor to an HIV/AIDS doctor.
Don't make Ashi cry. Please.
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