In the early '90s, Pedro Zamora of the San Francisco "The Real World" cast fit the AIDS stereotype — a gay man.
Throughout the season, the MTV audience got acquainted with the devastating disease. We watched the hardships not only faced by Pedro, but by those around him.
Much has changed since the first reports of AIDS were published 25 years ago. No longer thought of as a strictly white, gay man's disease, we are seeing AIDS sweep across the world and slowly learning more about its effects.
And although we may all be familiar with Pedro and Magic Johnson for their association with the disease, there is still a lot about AIDS that most of us don't know.
AIDS is probably a lot more common than you think. According to the NO/AIDS Task Force based in New Orleans, one American is infected with AIDS every 13 minutes — that's four people within the course of one hour.
Of these cases, minorities — primarily African Americans and Hispanics — now account for about 54 percent of all the cases of AIDS reported since the pandemic emerged.
In the least, these numbers indicate that as a nation, we face a growing problem.
While it seems like a cure may be in the future, there are several hurdles ahead of us. With factors including economics, social status and availability of resources, it does not seem surprising that there is a strong cultural stigma associated with the disease.
Although at this point there is no cure for AIDS, there are medical treatments that can slow the effects of the disease. Like many other diseases, early detection offers more options for treatment.
The first step in the right direction concerning AIDS is for every individual to get tested.
Regardless of if you're scared, whether or not you have AIDS affects intimate relationships.
Even if you're not having sex, it isn't safe to assume you're in the clear.
While abstinence is the only 100 percent effective way to protect yourself from sexually transmitted AIDS, the disease can also be transmitted through injection drug use, blood transfusions and from mother to fetus.
The only way to be safe and certain is to learn the facts and get tested.
