By Hannah Gerdes Writer The article “HIV/AIDS epidemiology, pathogenesis, prevention, and treatment” (Simon et. al) sheds light on how HIV-1 injects the viral core material into the cytoplasm of host cells, propagates itself, and hides in infected people. However, the transmission of HIV-1 isn’t just a physical issue. In the novel Sizwe’s Test, journalist Jonny Steinberg follows a shop-owner from an overcrowded, black rural slum on the Eastern Cape of South Africa, called Sizwe, in order to get a better understanding of his thoughts and attitudes towards the virus. Firstly, as Steinberg learns about the establishment of the first local HIV-clinic, he realizes that people would be hesitant to go to such a clinic, for fear of being under the eye of watchful neighbors who could use their HIV-positive status against them. Sizwe also demonstrates that people might not want to get treated at a biomedical clinic. While medical doctors offer antiretrovirals, which can only be administered after someone has the disease, and which don’t ever completely rid the patient of HIV/AIDS, many traditional healers promise a complete cure. As Sizwe confidently asserts, “A cure is better.” Without going to clinics, there are obvious individual harms: people may not learn about their own status, and won’t receive treatment, leading to death. The pathology of HIV/AIDS and certain social factors can work together to promote the transmission of the disease, and worsen the negative biological, psychological, and social experiences associated with the disease.
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AuthorsThe authors of these blog posts are staff writers of The Triple Helix at Georgetown University. Archives
November 2016
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