Title: Media Perspectives of HIV Testing and Antiretroviral Treatment
Abstract:
In this paper I would like to argue my position on mandatory HIV testing, and why mandatory testing is beneficial to the sexually active society we live in. I will use sources and references to back up my position for mandatory testing, as well as study the position against mandatory testing to get a view of both perspectives and strengthen my argument. Then I would like to discuss the current status of anti-retroviral treatment, the plausibility that the sooner an HIV infection is found the longer chance the person infected has of living due to the treatments available. I would also like to discuss the economic implications of the current “cocktail” treatment, such as the cost of the drugs, as well as the ability for a person with HIV to afford these drugs, and whether Insurance companies and/or the government cover the high costs of these drugs.
I would also like to discuss the roles gender; sexual orientation, drug use, ethnicity, and the “sex-trade” play in statistical analysis of HIV infections. I plan to go further in depth with drug use and its association to transmission of HIV, to argue that government programs to give clean needles and sanitary places for drug users to use in order to limit and decrease the transmission of HIV among drug users. To conclude I would like to discuss whether or not resistance to HIV is existent, if resistance to the virus holds a key to a cure for HIV, and the difficulties behind creating a vaccination for the virus.
Annotated Bibliography
Bell, Emma, Promise Mthembu, Sue O’Sullivan, and Kevin Moody. “Sexual and Reproductive Health Services and HIV Testing: Perspectives and Experiences of Women and Men Living with HIV and AIDS.” Reproductive Health Matters. 15.29 (2007): 113-136. Web. 9 Sep. 2012. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/25475326 >.
This article discusses the experiences of men and women living with HIV and AIDS, and the prejudice and stigma behind the disease all around the world. This article will be useful in understanding the treatments available and the difficulties present in the treatments, as well as the healthcare providers prejudicing against infected patients. This article will be useful because it takes real life examples and analyzes them to improve and expand the treatment beyond the cocktail of drugs into a treatment more supportive to the infected persons. The basis being that increased support, counseling, and guidance of infected persons will help them deal with the emotional stress and trauma, as well as inform the public in order to reduce the stigma of the disease and make the livelihood of infected persons more bearable.
Bernard, Nicole, Christina Yannakis, Jimmy Lee, and Christos Tsoukas. “Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)-Specific Cytotoxic T Lymphocyte Activity in HIV- Exposed Seronegative Persons.” Journal of Infectious Diseases,. 179.3 (1999): 538-547. Web. 9 Sep. 2012. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/30117305>.
This journal article explores the resistance to the HIV virus that some people have developed. The information from the study in this article will show the importance that the data gained in the development of a cure. This information will help me argue that gaining an understanding of why these exposed subjects did not show progression of the disease and studying the different antibodies produced by these people to combat the virus is vital to finding a cure.
Boyd, Kenneth. “Institute of Medical Ethics: Working Party Report: HIV Infection: The Ethics of Anonymised Testing and of Testing Pregnant Women.” Journal of Medical Ethics. 16.4 (1990): 173-178. Web. 9 Sep. 2012. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/27716964 >.
This journal article discusses the ethics behind anonymous and mandatory testing for expectant mothers. This article will be helpful in establishing my argument for mandatory testing, and also adds the benefits of anonymous testing for epidemiological purposes. It will also offer the perspective of the opposite side against mandatory testing, which is where the ethical dilemma occurs. Should doctors be able to test patients without their permission? Answering this question will be the key backbone of my argument. This article will help me to develop this argument and explain the benefits of mandatory and even anonymous testing. Most importantly this article will back up my argument that increased testing and raising public awareness, such as testing for the disease between partners and increased risk groups could majorly reduce the amount of transmissions of HIV, thus making such rigorous testing efforts a temporary cure for the disease while a vaccine is still being developed.
Lemckert, Angelique, Jaap Goudsmit, and Dan Barouch. “Challenges in the Search for an HIV Vaccine.” European Journal of Epidemiology. 19.6 (2004): 513-516. Web. 9 Sep. 2012.
This journal article is very important to gaining an understanding of the difficulties behind finding a vaccine for the HIV virus. This will be useful in explaining the science behind the problem, and why finding a vaccine for HIV is much more difficult than finding the influenza vaccine. Once we have the basic understanding of the science behind finding the vaccine, we can take a critical and analytical approach to the problem, to essentially try to figure out if other ways to find a cure are possible. This will also be helpful in backing up my position on mandatory testing, and how testing itself and taking preventative measures to getting and spreading the disease by knowing whether you are infected or not could in the long term be very beneficial while a vaccine is still being figured out.
Wilson, David, Paul Coplan, Mark Wainberg, and Sally Blower. “The Paradoxical Effects of Using Antiretroviral-Based Microbicides to Control HIV Epidemics.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America,. 105.28 (2008): 9835-9840. Web. 9 Sep. 2012. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/25463059 >.
This article discusses the development of a drug that can be used to control and even prevent transmission of the disease by using antiretroviral-based microbicides. The article will be useful in asserting the difficulties in finding a single cure, due to the drug resistant strains of the disease. The article is fairly recent, published in 2008, and can show a modern snapshot of where we stand to finding a cure. The fact that the disease is always changing and introducing a vaccine, as such discussed in the article, could cause more harm than good by eliminating certain strains of the disease and allowing resistant strains to mutate and possibly make finding a definitive cure even more difficult. I find the term the authors use “paradox” very fitting to the difficulty in finding a cure, due to the fact that the cure could possibly enhance the disease causing a major setback in the search for a cure.
