The New Age of HIV/AIDS | UNC-TV

The New Age of HIV/AIDS Part 10

webteam@unctv.org — Tue, 23 May 2006 13:50:33 -0400

Living With HIV/AIDS

From prevention strategies to treatments, scientists in labs just like this one all across North Carolina have made great strides in eradicating HIV. Advocates are working to educate people about the ever-widening scope of the epidemic, to lessen stigma, and to encourage people to protect themselves. We've shown you how far they've come and how much work is still to do. You've met the people who live each day with the disease and its physical and emotional effects. But behind each of those people is a story, sometimes of struggle and sadness, but also of encouragement and inspiration.

The New Age of HIV/AIDS Part 9

webteam@unctv.org — Tue, 23 May 2006 13:51:42 -0400

HIV/AIDS Research
Something Gerrod Henderson and the approximately 28 thousand other North Carolinians living with HIV/AIDS can look forward to these days is growing old, thanks to significant advances in research. In the early days of the epidemic, an HIV diagnosis was essentially a death sentence. Scientists knew very little about how the disease worked in the body. The tide began turning in 1987 when the food and drug administration approved AZT, the first aids drug. Now there are more than 20 medicines to treat HIV, and many experts believe the new drugs have truly ushered in the new age of HIV/AIDS by allowing people to live longer with the disease. But aids educators say as great as they are, the drugs have also created a whole new set of problems.

The New Age of HIV/AIDS Part 8

webteam@unctv.org — Tue, 23 May 2006 13:52:59 -0400

HIV in Children
Gerrod Henderson wasn't so lucky. He contracted HIV at birth from his mother.

"I found out when I was 5 or 6, one of those, and it was through eavesdropping which little kids like to do," says Henderson. "My mother and my doctor were talking and they had mentioned it, and I was just like oh, I have HIV; okay let me go play in the toy center, and it was just something in the back of my head."

The New Age of HIV/AIDS Part 7

webteam@unctv.org — Tue, 23 May 2006 13:55:18 -0400

Acute HIV Testing
Help for people with HIV/AIDS is also coming in the form of rapid scientific advances, new frontiers of medicine for a new age of the disease. And it starts with testing. AIDS Advocates say no matter who you are, it's important to be tested for HIV because early detection improves your chance of survival and reduces your risk of transmitting HIV to other people. Now, North Carolina is the first and only state in the country to test for the newest, most contagious cases.

The New Age of HIV/AIDS Part 6

webteam@unctv.org — Tue, 23 May 2006 13:56:23 -0400

HIV/AIDS Funding
Whether someone lives in a small town like Jason or in a big city, state leaders say it costs tens of thousands of dollars to treat HIV. And they say because the face of HIV is increasingly poor, public assistance is essential. So where does the money come from? And is it enough, especially when it comes to buying life-prolonging medications? Doctors say for many patients, a combination of three medicines, the so-called drug cocktail, is their best bet for fighting HIV. But the drugs are expensive-at least 12 thousand dollars a year, which puts them out of reach of many of the people who need them the most.

The New Age of HIV/AIDS Part 5

webteam@unctv.org — Tue, 23 May 2006 13:57:27 -0400

Rural North Carolina
Twenty years ago, you probably wouldn't have found people with HIV in a place like this in the early days, it was a big city problem. But today, in the new age of HIV/AIDS, specialists say the virus has invaded small towns and quiet countrysides all across North Carolina. Statistics show about 25-percent of the state's HIV and AIDS cases are in rural areas, and researchers say people there face a special set of challenges, the biggest being stigma and discrimination.

The New Age of HIV/AIDS Part 4

webteam@unctv.org — Tue, 23 May 2006 13:58:48 -0400

College Outbreak
One place many people say you can talk about sex is a college campus, where attitudes about sex are often more open. But talk is not enough to stop the disease from spreading, because doctors say the new age of HIV/AIDS has seen a rapid rise in new cases among college students in North Carolina. Jonathan Perry is one of the people infected. He got the disease from the man he'd been dating.

The New Age of HIV/AIDS Part 3

webteam@unctv.org — Tue, 23 May 2006 13:59:53 -0400

Latinos
And state health leaders say they hope to see similar efforts among Latinos, where they say the new age of HIV/AIDS could someday soon be an AI DS crisis. Epidemiologists say the number of new cases among Latinos jumped from 15 in 1998 to 125 in 2005. That's an eight-fold increase. Latinos represent seven percent of all cases in North Carolina.

The New Age of HIV/AIDS Part 2

webteam@unctv.org — Tue, 23 May 2006 14:01:18 -0400

African Americans
Epidemiologist Dr. Del Williams says HIV is hitting African Americans especially hard. State statistics show the rate of infection for all African Americans is seven times greater than for whites. For black women, the rate is 12 times higher than for white women. Guilford County outreach worker Lloyd Mickens says a lack of empowerment is part of the reason why.

The New Age of HIV/AIDS Part 1

webteam@unctv.org — Tue, 23 May 2006 14:05:07 -0400

Introduction
HIV, or human immunodeficiency virus, is an infection transmitted through blood and other body fluids. It attacks the body's immune system and ultimately leads to AIDS, a disease in which immune function fails and a person develops opportunistic infections that cause death. We talked to the experts on HIV and AIDS, at leading research institutions such as the University of North Carolina and Duke University, and we also went to the state's HIV/STD Prevention and Care Branch, international research organizations, and community-based agencies across North Carolina to learn how the disease affects North Carolinians.

The New Age of HIV/AIDS