World AIDS Day is observed on December 1st each year. This day is significant for raising awareness about HIV/AIDS and supporting individuals living with the virus. It provides an opportunity to educate the public about the impact of HIV/AIDS and to promote testing and treatment options. The fear and misinformation surrounding HIV remain significant barriers to achieving the World Health Organization's Sustainable Development Goal of eradicating AIDS as a public health concern by 2030. Despite advancements in scientific research, stigma persists. On World AIDS Day 2025, let's address and debunk some common myths about HIV/AIDS.
World AIDS Day 2025 Theme
The global theme of World AIDS Day is “Overcoming disruption, transforming the AIDS response,” which aims to break down the cycle of stigma and shame attached to the tag of “being HIV positive.” The shame, fear, and stigma are rooted in outdated fear built on the foundation of a lack of awareness about HIV and how it enters the body and affects the immune system.
Myth vs Fact: Understanding the HIV Virus
Myth 1: HIV and AIDS are the same thing:
The HIV virus, or the human immunodeficiency virus, attacks the immune system of the body and makes it weaker and more prone to developing serious infections. While AIDS (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome) is the end stage of the infection when HIV is left untreated. This infection is identifiable by a severely compromised immune system and the presence of persistent life-threatening infections. Thanks to modern science, an HIV-positive diagnosis is no longer a guarantee of developing AIDS. The evolution of medicine and specialised therapies can be used to manage an HIV-positive diagnosis. In addition, some people have inactive HIV infection in their bodies. This happens when the virus enters the body but doesn't replicate, and this dormant status is a challenge to tackle even with specialised antiretroviral therapy.
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Myth 2: You can get HIV through Casual Contact
HIV is not airborne, nor is it transmitted through saliva. There is no scientific basis to contract HIV from shaking hands or through hugging, sharing a bathroom, drinking from the same glass, sharing food, or touching a doorknob. The virus needs a host to infect, and it is highly fragile outside the human body. The transmission of HIV requires specific body fluids to enter the bloodstream of an uninfected person, typically through unprotected physical contact or shared infected needles.
Myth 3: An HIV diagnosis means that your life is over.
This view is outdated and scientifically incorrect, as in the 1980s and early 1990s, a grim reality existed that led to the birth of this myth. Medical advances have changed the lives of people diagnosed with HIV. People with HIV-positive status follow an antiretroviral therapy, which allows them to live fuller lives comparable to their HIV-negative peers. HIV is now managed as a chronic, long-term health condition, much like diabetes and high blood pressure.
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Facts About HIV And AIDS
There are two key facts that are built on the pillars of medical breakthroughs, which revolve around using treatment as prevention of HIV and highly effective preventative medication to manage the symptoms.
- Undetectable equals untransmittable: If a person takes the exact prescribed antiretroviral therapy, their viral load (the amount of the HIV virus in the blood) drops to low levels. The lab tests can't detect it at low levels, so effective treatment is the solution to effective management of the HIV virus. In the National Library of Medicine (2019), it is documented that an undetectable HIV status can't be transmitted to other people.
- Prevention is accessible and powerful: For people with HIV-negative individuals, highly effective medication is available to prevent infection. Medication for HIV-negative people is known as PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis), which is taken regularly to reduce the risk of exposure. PEP (post-exposure prophylaxis) is prescribed to people who have been exposed to the HIV infection within 72 hours and taken for 28 days to prevent the virus from taking hold of the host body.
The fight to end AIDS is now more about social awareness and willpower that is rooted in scientific research. Get tested, read more about HIV and AIDS, and share facts to combat stigma.
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Disclaimer: This content, including advice, provides generic information only. It is in no way a substitute for a qualified medical opinion. Always consult a specialist or your own doctor for more information. NDTV does not claim responsibility for this information.
References:
The science is clear: with HIV, undetectable equals untransmittable. (2019).
What Are HIV and AIDS? (2023).
Pierson, T., McArthur, J., & Siliciano, R. (2000). Reservoirs for HIV-1: mechanisms for viral persistence in the presence of antiviral immune responses and antiretroviral therapy. Annual Review of Immunology.
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