In Bulgaria (and not only here) AIDS is much more than a disease. AIDS is stigma. A deserved verdict. Leprosy. A disgrace. It is transmitted through the air. Through touch. Through mosquitoes. And in fact AIDS is none of these things. AIDS is acquired immune deficiency syndrome which one can acquire after becoming infected with HIV. HIV in turn is the virus of human immune deficiency which is transmitted through sexual contact and blood as well as from a mother to her baby. That’s it.
Nobody can be infected with the virus through simply being in the same room with an HIV-positive person, or talking to them, a handshake, eating from the same plate drinking from the same glass, sleeping in the same bed, or hugging them. At the same time HIV is not ‘reserved’ for prostitutes, homosexuals and drug addicts as is the general idea. If you have had sex without a condom, if the donated blood has been infected – in theory HIV can happen to anyone. The very difficult and at the same time crucial role of the media is to communicate all this clearly, because ignorance leads to fear. And fear – to stigma and discrimination. They in turn lead to social death. For HIV-positive people the social death comes a long time before the physical.
download guide (.pdf, only in Bulgarian)
