Prevention of AIDS

medicalquestions — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 06:01:12 +0000

Question: How can AIDS be prevented? Is there a vaccine you can have?
Scientists from around the world have been working overtime in their laboratories for the past two decades since AIDS first appeared in order to develop a long-lasting AIDS vaccine. The scientists who succeed will not only save millions of lives, but almost certainly will win a Nobel Prize.
So far no vaccine has been developed that can be proved to work. Numerous experimental vaccines have been tried on monkeys (who can get a mild form of AIDS) and human volunteers, but without success. It is probable that one will be developed in the future, but the AIDS virus is a different type to most viruses, and no vaccine against any virus of this type has yet been developed.
AIDS can be prevented almost completely (but not totally) by using condoms when you have any sort of penetrative sex, and not sharing needles if you are an injecting drug user. The best form of protection is a long term relationship with a single sexual partner.

Can AIDS be cured ?

medicalquestions — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 06:01:33 +0000

Question: Can AIDS be cured now?
Unfortunately, no. Medical scientists have developed a wide range of medications that can be used to slow the progress of AIDS, particularly the transition from an inactive to an active form of the infection, and these can allow patients to lead a normal life for many years, but they do not cure the viral infection.
The drugs must be taken in quite large amounts and often while following very strict time regime. It may be necessary to take several capsules four or five times a day. These drugs also have side effects, and some patients find these difficult to tolerate, while others have minimal problems.
It is often a decade or more from diagnosis before the infection flares up into its final stages with these medications.
The best treatment is still prevention.

Medical Questions & Answers » prevention of aids

Prevention of AIDS

Can AIDS be cured ?