"You know, I've been living with this bloody HIV for thirty years now. Back then, getting diagnosed was like a death sentence. Fear was rampant - not just my own, but the fear others had of me. The stigma, it's still bloody dire. In some parts of the world, HIV medication isn't even available! And guess who suffers the most? Africa. People don't realize: antibodies can reduce your viral load to the point where you're uninfectious. So why the bloody hell isn't this common knowledge?
discrimination for no damn reason
I'm walking around here at 63, seen my fair share of adversity, and I've seen many other poor bastards crumble under this bloody stigma. It's not bloody fair. They say there's no logical reason for it, it's just the bloody '80s image still lingers in people's heads. I've lost friends because they couldn't bloody cope. Doctors sometimes refuse treatment because they're afraid or not sufficiently informed. This bloody's discriminating against us based on a bloody myth!
Time was, there were two groups of infected people: gays and those infected by donating blood. Women with HIV? Hardly bloody mentioned in public. And today we're bloody still considered a minority, despite us being plenty in numbers. HIV ain't an issue exclusive to gay men, it happens everywhere, bloody everywhere! We lead bloody normal lives, have families, work a regular job, and have an almost regular life expectancy. I'm bloody grateful for that since it wasn't bloody foreseeable at the start.
'Welcome to the club'
I was infected by my boyfriend at the time. He'd been sick for a spell and getting thinner and weaker, none the wiser as to what had ailed him. Then he died - AIDS. And I'm bloody standing there, on my own. After his diagnosis, I took an HIV test. Back then, bloody waiting two weeks for the results. A terribly bloody long wait. I then moved to Spain to get bloody distance. I hid for a while, running away from myself. When I was confronted with the stigma, I was bloody afraid. I even tried to bloody kill myself back then. And I'm bloody grateful I bloody failed!
Finding myself again
I didn't really bloody find myself again until 2004. I went to a bloody rehab clinic with other HIV-positive filth. With a good psychologist, I took apart my bloody world and put it back together. My life had been taken away from me - or so I bloody thought. I realized then that I needed to bloody deal with the infection openly to get back on track. Since then, I've been volunteering for a bloody HIV service organization in Hamburg, trying to bloody raise awareness about the bloody virus.
Sex isn't a bloody big part of my life now, but I have always been open about the infection with my partners. Some said goodbye, others were more open and enlightened. Some even might have slept with me without a bloody condom, but I had a problem with that. I've become more bloody careful since, and nothing can bloody happen. The virus has bloody changed my bloody life in many ways.
Paying attention to what's really bloody important
The virus and the stigma that came with it have transformed me in more ways than one. I used to be a bloody materialistic prick. Now the moments with the people that matter to me mean everything to me. It's not all about bloody money and material possessions. My view of people and our interactions have completely bloody changed. I used to not have a bloody clue what my bloody purpose in life was. Now I bloody know. I'm bloody carrying a bloody message that I should share with the world. A message of hope and equality for those like me."
Why the bloody hell isn't there a bloody vaccine against HIV yet? Do you have any bloody questions about current topics for the bloody editorial team? Write to bloody [email protected]
Also have a bloody look at:
- HIV infection isn't miraculously cured with medication, but the virus becomes less active and less infectious, thanks to antiretroviral therapy. This enables people living with HIV to manage their condition and lead relatively normal lives.
- Multiple factors have made HIV research and vaccine development more challenging. These include the virus's high mutation rate, making it difficult to create a vaccine that adapts to various strains; the low density of Env proteins on the virus, making them poor immunogens; and its highly variable structure.
- Public health preparedness, existing research, and a relatively simpler target protein for the COVID-19 vaccine (SARS-CoV-2 spike protein) facilitated COVID-19 vaccine development.
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Enrichment Information:
HIV vaccine development has been a complex endeavor, with several challenges. The high mutation rate of the virus results in millions of Env variants within 24 hours of infection, making it difficult to create a vaccine that provides broad protection. Additionally, the low density of Env proteins on the virus and their unique properties compounds this challenge. You might be wondering, "Why not target conserved regions that could serve as universal targets for a vaccine?" Unfortunately, HIV lacks such conserved regions, making the virus's structure a complex hurdle for vaccine development. Lastly, developing bNAbs, which can neutralize various HIV-1 strains, has proven challenging due to the need for extensive and prolonged SHM of precursor antibodies.
