Originally posted by boneanon
The wonderful thing about it all is that fact that we have the technology to keep those infected with HIV alive while we research a cure. This allows sufficient time for the virus to mutate into the many strands that are available today and makes other illnesses that are rare due to their weaknesses to become more common and develop tolerances to the antibiotics that we so readily and massively prescribe to the HIV infected.
HIV is extremely weak and fragile like most viruses until it can find a proper host and grow stronger. Like all viruses it infects the weakest of a species and grows strong enough to infect any of them unless they die thus killing the virus with them.
In the times of plaugues those with proper food and shelter were less likely to get the plaugue until massive amounts of people were infected which was solely due to the large amount of poor and homeless of the times.
In our times people who's immune systems are lowered due to drugs, poor diet, and lifestyle are an excellent host for a virus as weak as HIV. It then has time to develop itself and they become the host that can spread it to anyone.
So what should we do about it? kill them all thus ridding the world of the virus? You would say no, of course. That would be illogical and inhumane.
Instead we should try to develop a cure, but being that the virus attacks the immune system itself instead of the body this would seem very impractical if not impossible.
So what happens when it finally mutates into a strand that is airborne? What then?
Even more interesting is how we isolate and quarentine people infected with leparsy when the cure is soap and water and we hug and kiss those infected with HIV which has no cure.
Is it pity? Is it fear?
What influences us to make the decisions we do with deadly viruses and the people infected with them?
If you decide to comment on any of these questions I would like to hear your answer on this one.
Would you kill another to save yourself?