Toward an AIDS-Free Generation

• Published in: JAMA : the journal of the American Medical Association Vol. 308; no. 4; pp. 343 - 344
• Main Authors: Fauci, Anthony S, Folkers, Gregory K
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Medical Association 25.07.2012
• Subjects: Acquired immune deficiency syndrome; Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome - drug therapy; Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome - epidemiology; Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome - prevention & control; Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome - transmission; Adult; AIDS; AIDS Vaccines; Anti-Retroviral Agents - therapeutic use; Antiretroviral drugs; Biomedical Research - trends; Female; Global Health; Health Services Accessibility; HIV; HIV Infections - drug therapy; HIV Infections - epidemiology; HIV Infections - prevention & control; HIV Infections - transmission; Human immunodeficiency virus; Humans; Infant, Newborn; Infectious Disease Transmission, Vertical - prevention & control; Male; Mortality; Pandemics; Pregnancy
• DOI: 10.1001/jama.2012.8142
• ISSN: 0098-7484

Since the first cases of what is now known as acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) were reported in 1981, an entire generation has grown up under the constant cloud of this modern-day plague. Across the globe, more than 34 million people are living with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the virus that causes AIDS, including approximately 1.2 million individuals in the US. HIV/AIDS has been responsible for the deaths of an estimated 30 million individuals. Although the rate of new HIV infections has declined or stabilized in many countries, the disease continues to exact an enormous toll: 1.8 million deaths in 2010 alone, grief and hardship for countless families and communities, and deleterious economic effects as those in the prime of life who lack timely access to treatment are lost to parenting and the workforce. Depending on the region of the world, many die with little or no access to medical care, while others require and receive expensive medical and end-of-life care. Here, Fauci and Folkers discuss several interventions to fight HIV/AIDS.