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BellaHoffman
EnglishIII
Conrad
1March2015
TheTestingofAIDSonVulnerablePeople
DidyouknowthatoneinsevenmenislivingwithHIVandunawareofhisinfection?
About1in4newHIVinfectionsisbetweenages1324.Mostofthesekidsdonotknowtheyare
infectedandarenotreceivingtreatment.AIDS,AcquiredImmuneDeficiencySyndromeinsome
waysisinvolvedinachainofevents.AidsiscausedbyHIVandHIVisavirusthatattacksthe
immunesystemcells.Oncethisoccursthevirusisextremelyhardtofightoff.Acontroversial
topichasbeenwhetherpharmaceuticalcompaniesshouldtestexperimentalAIDSdrugson
Vulnerablepopulations.Althoughtherecanbeseriousissueswithexperimentalaids,theyshould
betestedonvulnerablepopulationstofindoutmoreabouttheeffectivenessofthetreatments.
Pharmaceutical companies have developed a drugthatcouldpotentiallyblockthe
AIDS virus. Although one patient said taking the pillsmadeMcCottrelldizzy,weak,andmade
her throw up(Moore). This is justone casewheretheexperimentaldrugshavehadsomeeffects
on people. People must go into these

kinds of experiments knowing these things are

possibilities. Although one patient had this unfortunate experience others said the drug works
beautifully to prevent HIV from destroying key cells of the immune system(Ritter).Scientists
are working hard to develop a more effective treatment that will work wonders when it is
released to the public. This is a pill that should be able to be tested on mass populations. They
have more positives than negatives when using the treatment. AlsotheysayTheepilepsydrug,

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which is not the market. Blocks an enzyme that the research identified as playing a key role in
immune system attack(Ritter). Keep in mindthesedrugsaretestedonhumantissue!Sowhybe
afraidofthem,theytrulyaremiracleworkers.TherearemanyprostotestingexperimentalAIDS
drugsonmasspopulation.
Many say that the funding for AIDShasbeen abigissuein findingthetreatment.People
start to question or have given up not knowing if there will even be a treatment. Writing in the
Article Devastating cuts to HIV program, researchersChadBenoitandMariaSmithwrite,In
July the senate voted to cut $300 Million from the Global AIDS budget(Benoit and Smith).
Benoit and Smiths point shows that, many people with AIDS have given up on treatments
because there is insufficient amounts of funds to even develop a treatment. Despite these
problems, many researchers are still trying to work on treatments. Obama has recently pledged
100 million dollars to help find a cure in HIV.AccordingtoPresidentObamasspeechhestated,
On world AIDS day two, years ago, i announced an additional $35 million for the AIDSDrug
Assistance Program, which helps people pay for lifesaving medications(Anderson and
Minshall). This proves that although there are many people who have lost hopeinthetreatment
of AIDS there are still many patients that haveahopefortreatment.Therearemanyresearchers
and people like Obama, trying to find ways to fund and help pay for AIDS treatment
developments. Evidence shows that Obama created a first national HIV/Aids strategy which
gives every gender, age , race or socioeconomic status a chance to have enough care to last a
lifetime.
BradHaresays,"EverybodyneedstobetestedforAidsatleastonce."Nowadaystesting
isaloteasier,quickerandmoreaccuratethanitusedtobe.Whichcanmakeitalotlessscary.

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Themainagestobetestedarebetween15and65.It'simportanttogettestedevenifyoudon't
thinkyouhaveitbecauseyoucouldbeinfectedandnotknowit.Anotherwayoftestingcanbea
testingcalledFourthgenerationHIV,itfindsantibodiesandspecialproteinsonthevirusitself.
Thesetestscatchthevirusearlierthanantibodytestsbutarenotroutinelyusedyet.Thereare
manypreventiontestsbutthemostefficientrightnowistheFourthgenerationHIVtest,which
hasntbeenreleasedyetalthoughthereothereffectivetestssuchastheRapidtest,andthe
Antibodytest.MostoftheHIVtestsconsistofblood,urine,andsalivatests.Thetypeofpeople
doctorsandthegovernmentwanttotestforAidsaresexuallyactiveadultsandothersthatareat
riskathavingAIDS.
Despitetheconsofthesedrugs,therearemoreprostooverpowerthem.Notonly
dotheyworkasadrugstillinthebetastage,hereismoneyinseveralfoundationsaroundthe
worldtohelpthembecomeafinalproductthatwillstopthisterribleAIDSepidemic.Everyone
shouldbeabletobetestedforAIDSandnothavetoworryaboutdying,nowthankstothese
drugs,thatwillsoonbethereality.DoctorsthinkeveryoneshouldbetestedforAIDSevenifthe
personisnotsexuallyactive.ExperimentalAIDSdrugsshouldbetestedontheworlds
vulnerablepublic.

WorksCited
Ritter, Malcolm. "Drug Blocks HIV in Lab Study, Human Tests Planned." Salinas Californian.
19Dec.2013:n.p.SIRSIssuesResearcher.Web.26Feb.2015.
"President Obama Pledges $100 Million to Find Cure for HIV." HIVPlusMag.com. N.p., n.d.
Web.26Feb.2015.

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Benoit, Chad, and Maria Smith. "Devastating Cuts to HIV Program." University Wire. 25 Sep.
2014:n.p.SIRSIssuesResearcher.Web.26Feb.2015.