AIDS awareness

Japan, the only "developed" country where HIV infection continues to increase....and that's just the ones they know about.

Japan, where you must report your HIV or AIDS status to the government and if you are a foreigner will lose your Visa and kicked out.

AIDS is now a disease which is primarily transmitted by immoral behaviour. It's completely avoidable if you engage in monogamous relationships with faithful partners and don't do drugs.

However I do agree with raising awareness of what AIDS is and how it is contracted, even if I disagree with the behaviour of those who did contract it.

It is extremely sad and unfortunate that HIV-related stigma and discrimination are found all over the world and some people are shunned by family peers, and the wider community, while others face poor treatment in healthcare and education settings, erosion of human rights, and psychological damage. On the community level people are actually forced to leave their homes, change their daily activities such as socializing, schooling or even shopping, face rejection, verbal and physical abuse. In the end stigma blocks access to HIV testing and treatment services, making onward transmissions more likely. Hence the removal of barriers may be the key to ending the global HIV epidemic.

@ Akula -

It's completely avoidable if you engage in monogamous relationships with faithful partners and don't do drugs.

I agree completely. But, judging by all the thumbs down, it seems that many readers want the freedom to have promiscuous sex and to use mind altering substances disregarding their health and safety and that of others.

Dear Akula and sensei258,

besides that morals are totally subjective, you are simply ignoring facts as simple medical mistakes. For example in 2003 and 2007 2 seperate hospitals had to screen about 1000 people (on the total polulation of 16m in the Netherlands) for HIV due to malfunctioning sterilization equipment. AFAIK nobody was contaminated.

sources (in dutch so you most likely have to use a translator to make sense of it): http://www.gezondheidsnet.nl/medisch/mogelijk-500-patienten-besmet-met-hiv and http://www.trouw.nl/tr/nl/4324/Nieuws/article/detail/1770822/2003/02/26/Mogelijk-hiv-besmetting-in-Martini-Ziekenhuis.dhtml

With the last source stating: this is the 3rd hospital in 2003 where such an error occured, the first link has the inspectors stating that these kind of errors are unavoidable.

My heart goes out to those who contracted this horrible disease through no fault of their own Doranku. However I don't feel any sympathy for those who engaged in risky behaviour and contracted the disease that way.

I don't feel any sympathy for those who engaged in risky behaviour and contracted the disease that way.

You don't feel sympathy for someone who was out enjoying being alive, and caught a horrible disease along the way? What would Jesus say?

@ Doranku

morals are totally subjective

I never said anything about morals. I mentioned promiscuous sex and drug use, which are behaviors

you are simply ignoring facts as simple medical mistakes

explain how I did that

Wow Strangerland, we agree again.

You don't feel sympathy for someone who was out enjoying being alive, and caught a horrible disease along the way?

While working as a nursing assistant after retiring from the military, I had the opportunity to be with and care for young men who were dying from advanced AIDS. It was a horrible, sad situation to be there and watch them die. While I don't think people, gay or not, should engage in risky behavior, all thoughts about morals or blame went out the window.