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The doctor Sheen went onto explain that although she is HIV positive, the actor does not have AIDS.
“I’m here to admit that, in fact, I’m HIV positive.” With those words, the controversial actor Charlie Sheen confirmed Tuesday rumors circulating about his health. “Three letters difficult to absorb,” he said in an exclusive interview with the “Today” show on NBC.
In the four years he has lived virus, Sheen admitted, took many bad decisions. Knowing sick had something to do with his excessive behavior in the recent past. I did not want to live with the fear that someone else confessed his secret, decided to speak and says he feels better than he thought was possible.
your treating doctor Robert Huizenga, is concerned over the mind and habits that may cause you damage the virus. “Antiretrovirals have removed the virus so that worries me more substance abuse due to depression which is suffering from the disease, so the virus can give”.
While being a carrier is no longer the death sentence it was in the 80s, 90-still no cure, but treatments accessible and effective- the matter is still surrounded by prejudice.
“Pay substanciosas amounts of money to remain silent not only reflects the stigma around the disease but also a willingness to support such a stigma, rather than being direct and accept what happened, “he told Univision News Jeff Sheehy, director of communications at the University of California at San Francisco (UCSF), diagnosed with the HIV virus in 1997 .
Sheehy is not sure that the discussion on the Sheen case is helping to understand the challenges of those at risk of HIV or living with the virus. “The recent past of abuse and promiscuity could support the idea that people with HIV are” getting what they deserve. “
, other personalities have publicly admitted having contracted HIV, despite the complexities that this represents. Through their stories, we investigate how it has changed the understanding of this disease.
The silence broke Rock Hudson
Era 1985 and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) was becoming a problem worldwide for its high rate of infection and mortality, and the lack of effective medications. Its origin was still uncertain and the silence surrounding the disease.
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The actor Rock Hudson was the first celebrity to reveal a diagnosis of HIV / AIDS.
The rumors that the actor Rock Hudson was a carrier of HIV and AIDS had exploded when he went to France to seek treatment. His spokesman, publicist Yanou Collart, confirmed that she had the syndrome July 25 of that year: “Never forget the look on his face, very few people knew he was gay. Was he destroying his own image and resignation in his eyes that looked “he said.
After the announcement, Hudson became the first celebrity to recognize that she had the disease. At that time it was thought that the virus could be transmitted only through homosexual relations or intravenously to use syringes to administer drugs; then it determined that the modes of transmission were much broader.
The actor died a few months later, on October 2, 1985. His death represented a turning point for people to begin to realize the huge danger of contagion a virus that was previously considered restricted to marginal populations.
When HIV was synonymous with death
In 1991, two other cases that they met shocked the public.
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Magic Johnson is healthy after 24 years of being a carrier of the virus.
The basketball player Earvin “Magic” Johnson, a legend of the NBA, shocked the world by announcing in early November of that year he had HIV but had not developed AIDS. Similarly, the perception at the end of this press conference, was that he had pronounced his death sentence
But it was not
. 24 years later, at 56, he has achieved prevent the onset of AIDS, with the help of antiretroviral drugs. His infection was detected in time, so it became a pioneer of treatments. His case also helped change the perception of what was the virus and who could contract it.
The same year of diagnosis, created the Magic Johnson Foundation to help fight the disease and raise awareness of the importance of prevention, protection and detention, including Volvo play basketball. After hearing the news of Sheen, he made a public appeal through his Twitter account, to accompany him in the task of educating about the virus.
Also in 1991, British musician and singer Freddie Mercury, leader of Queen group, refused to answer speculation that he was ill. He confirmed two days before his death on November 24 of that year, at 45 years old. The last years of his life were marked by paparazzi who were besieging.
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Greg Louganis hid his diagnosis for several years.
Fear of rejection
Another case that illustrates the difficulty of making public the diagnosis of this virus is the American diver, double Olympic champion Greg Louganis. His revelation was in 1995, seven years after participating in the Olympic Games in Seoul, where he had an accident. He hit his head against the diving platform and bled profusely after falling into the pool
” I did not know how people would receive. I’m not Magic Johnson. I’m not heterosexual, I’m gay. I receive a lot of criticism, but this was what I had to do, “said the timing of the announcement.
Today, 20 years later, to publish an HIV diagnosis remains a sensitive issue for anyone, much more for a celebrity. According to Scott Carroll, who for over two decades advising patients about HIV / AIDS and is co-director of the Berkeley Free Clinic community clinic, if Sheen will be “interesting” because it would “give us an idea of what we need do to support people who are struggling, dealing with their HIV status. “
” One of the things we want is to help people feel comfortable talking about their HIV status, “and also help those who have been diagnosed with the virus “not to hide,” Carroll said.
*** The Centers for Disease Control and Disease Prevention (CDC) recommend that anyone between 13 and 64 years is performing at least one HIV test as part of their routine of health. Condoms are the best way to prevent infections via sex.
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