Plague of the 20th century: AIDS was discovered 40 years ago

Plague of the 20th century: AIDS was discovered 40 years ago

40 years ago, AIDS was first discovered in an American laboratory. This is the final stage of HIV, a disease that is caused by the immunodeficiency virus. Until now, scientists have not come up with a cure for HIV, there are only drugs that can prolong life for a short time, MIR 24 correspondent Maxim Krasotkin reports.

“At 34, at 41. Most often these are young people. “

This is a canvas that Yulia Yakovleva demonstrates, made of scraps of clothes of those who died from AIDS. The girl herself learned about her HIV-positive status five years ago.

“I was in a relationship with a young man, but did not require a certificate from him, and – the most commonplace story – the means of protection were not always at hand,” said Yulia.

After much hesitation, I decided not to hide my diagnosis. Family and friends were sympathetic. She tells the others that HIV is not a sentence.

“Against the background of the disease, which still seems to be fatal, the brain is cleared very well. Everything unnecessary, unnecessary, leaves life. I think I'm not the only person who has reconsidered his position in life. And treatment and observation are also added – this disciplines more, ”noted Yulia.

For the first time AIDS – acquired immunodeficiency syndrome – was discovered in the United States in 1981. The doctors were interested in several young men who suffered from diseases unusual for their age. It turned out that they have no immunity at all. All patients turned out to be gay and drug addicts. The causative agent of AIDS – HIV – was discovered only two years later. For 40 years, this disease has begun to affect those who are not at risk.

“There are a lot of cases when we detect HIV infection during pregnancy in a woman who has only one sexual partner, a spouse who tried drugs ten years ago and forgot about it. And he was not examined and infected the woman, ”said Elena Orlova-Morozova, Candidate of Medical Sciences, head of the outpatient department of the Moscow Regional AIDS Center.

HIV differs from the new coronavirus in that it initially has no symptoms. And imperceptibly for a person it can turn into the last stage – AIDS. However, with a timely visit to a doctor, the patient's quality of life will not worsen, with the exception of daily medication. They help reduce the concentration of the virus in the blood.

“Treatment, besides the fact that it benefits the person we are treating, is an activity that curbs the spread of the epidemic. Because a person who receives therapy, for whom it is effective, has a minimal viral load, he cannot transmit the virus, ”explained Elena Orlova-Morozova.

For people with a positive HIV status, the state guarantees treatment, and various funds – support, including psychological support. Patients often face discrimination even within the walls of hospitals.

“HIV-positive people are faced with the fact that for example, they come to the dentist, and they need to get a denture. And they are told: he will not take root with you. Why won't it take root? It will take root exactly the same way, just the doctors themselves do not know this, they believe that medicine is at such a level that an HIV-positive person will always have immunity, ”said Sergei Abdurakhmanov, director of the AIDS Center Foundation.

Plague of the 20th century: AIDS was discovered 40 years ago

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  FOLLOWING

  The only HIV prevention so far is its timely detection. Doctors advise taking the test at least once a year.