habitancy That Changed the Perception of Hiv

Hiv and Aids have gone through a fairly large perception turn since the first death at the virus' hands in 1959. Initially dismissed as a qoute only in the gay community, it is now widely proper as the horrendous killer it has always been and Aids tests are rightly promoted as vital for all sexually active individuals. More than 25,000,000 people have died from Hiv and Aids and many more carry the virus, but some of the deaths and suffering have not been in vain as they have helped turn the worldwide perception of the disease. Here's a few of them.

Ryan White

Hiv

Through his landmark legal battle with the school system, Ryan White (1971-1990) is credited with forcing Aids issues onto the communal schedule at a time when it was widely being both ignored and misunderstood. Born a hemophiliac, Ryan was treated with Factor Viii - a blood goods formed from the blood of non-hemophiliacs - to administrate the bleeding. It turned out that this was tainted with the Hiv virus.

Despite being salutary for most of his childhood, he fell seriously ill in the winter of 1984, and was diagnosed with Aids during a partial-lung removal. The disease was still in its early stages of understanding, linked exclusively with the gay communities of New York and San Francisco where it had first been diagnosed, and only recently linked with the Hiv virus. As such, Hiv tests were uncommon and much of the blood contribute was tainted (it has been estimated that nearly 90% of hemophiliacs treated between 1979 and 1984 became infected with Hiv). White was given 6 months to live by doctors.

Upon feeling better, his parents tried to get Ryan back into school, but their bid was blocked by staff who did not understand that Aids was not spread through non-sexual contact. Although scientists knew it was a blood disease, there was a lot of misinformation about the disease, and as recently as 1983 it had been reported that "household touch may forward Hiv". After an 8 month legal battle, White was allowed to return to school to the nightmare of parents and some staff - many parents withdrew their children and started an alternative school. After an unhappy spell at the school where White was made to feel deeply uncomfortable, he moved onto other where he was proper by many who had been good educated about the disease.

Because of the publicity of the legal battle, White became nationally recognized, meeting celebrities such as Michael Jackson, Elton John, Phil Donahue and President Reagan. Four months after Ryan's 1990 death, Congress enacted The Ryan White ample Aids Resources accident Act in his honor.

Rock Hudson

Rock Hudson's homosexuality was a intimately guarded secret, and the romantic leading man's image was carefully crafted, well aware that his sexuality could ruin his career. For this reason, when he was first diagnosed with Aids in 1984, his supervision claimed it was liver cancer. One year later, and two months before his death, a visibly deteriorating Hudson admitted he was suffering from Aids. At the time, the disease was linked with - as E-online put it "sodomites, Haitians, junkies and other marginalized people, not upstanding Americans like movie stars." Rock Hudson was among the first renowned people to die from the disease, and was partially responsible for making Aids and Hiv testing a mainstream issue. As Morgan Fairchild said: "Rock Hudson's death gave Aids a face."

Ilka Tanya Payan

Ilka Tanya Payan was a Dominican actress (she played a small part in Scarface) and later a leading lawyer practicing immigration law. In 1986, an Hiv test proved positive, but she kept her status quiet for a long time. In 1993 she publicly admitted her health - making her one of the first Latino celebrities to delineate their Hiv safe bet status. Latin America generally believed that Aids was a disease that only affected homosexuals, and Payan's heterosexuality challenged this. For the remaining 3 years of her life, the previous actress devoted her life to educating the communal about the realities of Hiv and Aids, and she was given the honor of being chosen as a featured speaker for the United Nations World Aids Day panel.

Freddie Mercury

Queen front man Freddie Mercury was maybe the most high profile celebrity to succumb to the Aids virus. According to Jim Hutton, Mercury's partner, he had a safe bet Aids test in the spring of 1987, but it was only 4 years later, after a dogged perusal by the British gutter press that he admitted that he had the deadly disease. Just over a day later, Freddie Mercury died, and although he has been criticized for holding his health a underground (it has been argued he could have done a great deal for Aids awareness and fund-raising by talking openly about it), posthumously he has done a great deal for spreading the word for Aids tests and Hiv awareness. The remaining members of Queen founded The Mercury Phoenix Trust and organized The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert for Aids Awareness which featured the likes of Robert Plant, Elton John, Metallica, David Bowie, Guns N' Roses, George Michael and Liza Minnelli performing for 72,000 at Wembley Stadium, broadcast in 76 countries to an estimated audience of 1 billion people.

Magic Johnson

Basketball legend Magic Johnson is without doubt the most leading sportsman to have had a safe bet Hiv test. during a corporeal before the 91-92 Nba season, Johnson was tested positive, and immediately announced he would retire and dedicate his life to battling the deadly disease. He wrote a book on safe sex, and partnered with Dr Lynn Montana to help educate young people about the dangers of Hiv. He also set up the Magic Johnson Foundation to spread the word. maybe the most gift Johnson made was debunking the 'homosexual myth' - as a leading heterosexual athlete, Magic Johnson is proof that Aids can influence anything - and that safe bet Hiv testing needn't be the end of a person's life - indeed, he made a comeback as a player for the Lakers in 1996 - five years after his first retirement.

Aids and Hiv have gone a long way from being a taboo argument point and are now inspiring towards getting the attention they deserves. It's just a shame it took so many deaths, and so much campaigning to put regular Hiv testing on the international agenda.

habitancy That Changed the Perception of Hiv

Recommend : Buy clic adjustable front connect reader