Passersby informed about HIV/AIDS

01.12.2012 13:50
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Several dozen volunteers of the Nondiscrimination Coalition and the League of Persons Living with HIV in Moldova Saturday distributed leaflets about HIV and AIDS to passersby in three Chisinau parks, on the occasion of the World AIDS Day, Info-Prim Neo reports. Nondiscrimination Coalition press officer Mariana Galescu said that according to certain data, not even one third of Moldova’s population would like to have HIV-infected persons among neighbors. Owing to discrimination, these people cannot benefit from appropriate medical services and cannot study in normal conditions. Mariana Galescu said that the drive is aimed at informing the people about how they can protect themselves from the disease and to raise their awareness as they should know that the NIV is not transmitted through air, food or water. Two of the causes of discrimination against the HIV-infected persons are the ignorance and the existence of myths about this disease. The organization’s volunteers also inform the people about the necessity of doing tests for AIDS, if there are suspicions that they could contract the virus from somebody. A HIV-infected person receives free retroviral treatment that helps them to live long. An untreated person can leave for 5 to 25 years, until the virus does not destroy the immunity. Silvia Stratulat, head of the HIV-AIDS Prevention Division of the National Public Health Center, said that the test for HIV can be done in clinics in every district center. It is free and anonymous. Statistics show that there are over 7,600 HIV-infected persons in Moldova. 90% of them got the disease by heterosexual ways. Half of them are women, while 36% are from rural areas. Their number rises by 700 persons annually.