Tag Archives: HIV

Charlie Sheen has HIV…so what?

Credit: Mike Mozart
Photo credit: Mike Mozart.  By the way, Sheen has HIV, not AIDS.

In a blitz of media frenzy, Charlie Sheen recently announced he is HIV positive.  So, should we care?

Before saying anything else, absolutely and unequivocally: YES!  Raising awareness for disease is always a good thing.  Remember that ALS ice bucket challenge?  Even a disease like HIV, which for the general public is a has-been, benefits from media attention.  To the medical and scientific community, HIV is so much more.  HIV remains the number 1 infectious disease killer and top-funded research area.  Despite not yet having an effective vaccine (the Holy Grail of infectious disease if there ever was one), we’ve made enormous progress in understanding this unwieldy virus.

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