So this week in Newsweek they had articles about HIV/AIDS today. As a lover of Paul Monnette, and his writings about his struggle with HIV/AIDS, at a young age I became very interested in the fight against HIV/AIDS. I am happy that HIV/AIDS had the space on the cover of Newsweek when it seems harder and harder to even get politicians to pay attention to this growing pandemic.
I read the articles about HIV/AIDS as someone who has taken the time to get educated about HIV/AIDS. In fact, I even do HIV/AIDS outreach withing my community (NYC), and I have coordinated World AIDS Week events for college campuses, high schools, and communities.
One day I was on the subway with a fellow Columbia University student when she told be about how scared she was about getting AIDS on the subway, but accidently putting her hand on dried blood. She was a masters student at Columbia University, one of the most prestigious schools in the nation and did not know about the ways one can and can not get AIDS.
I tried to explain to her that the virus can not live long outside of the body, even in a pool of blood, and that she could only get HIV/AIDS from dipping her hand in blood on a subway pole if:
A) the blood was recently deposited there, and still warm and fress (it would most-likely be dried)
B) if she had cuts or niks on her hand; leading to exposure
C) if the blood entered this cut and entered the blood stream
The likelyhood of the disease living for more than even mere seconds outside of the human body is very small. Furthermore, if it was enough blood to get past the surface of her skin and into her actual cut, she would probably notice it before placing her hand in it.
Stay tuned for more on what to know about HIV/AIDS... including how you can and can not get HIV/AIDS.
See Newsweek article here:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12663345/site/newsweek/site/newsweek/
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