have been prosperous. Triple drug therapy, also known as cocktail therapy,
can suppress HIV for at least two years. The main problem with these drugs
is that testing is a long process. There have been many derogatory comments
towards the FDA, or Federal Drug Administration, concerning the length
of testing. Therefore, policies have changed in order to give quicker approval.
However, “early availability of a drug entails the risk that it may be
used in people before its toxicity and side effects are fully understood”
(Stine 337). However, many people with AIDS are willing to take this risk
with the hope that the drug may prove effective.
In conclusion, AIDS is an incurable disease
with few treatments, caused by HIV, transmitted by way of bodily fluids.
AIDS is mainly transmitted through sex and sexual activities, and by sharing
hypodermic drug needles. Sexual transmission is most dangerous if there
are many sexual partners, and if there is not use of a condom. Transmission
via blood transfusions has become almost absent, thanks to blood screenings.
Scientists are working hard on treatments and are working for a cure, however,
it is lacking to be found. A World Health Organization official says, “AIDS…will
test our fundamental values and measure the moral strength of our cultures”
(Bevan 6). We are the only ones who can stop this pandemic. There is a
way.
“Curable? No. Treatable? To a limited extent.
Preventable? By a vaccine, no – but by changing our behavior, yes. This
is how we must fight AIDS. … Prevention is better than cure. And when
there?s no cure, prevention is all we have” (Bevan 46, 56).