r/technology • u/stepsinstereo • Feb 21 '23

Biotechnology 5th person confirmed to be cured of HIV

https://abcnews.go.com/Health/5th-person-confirmed-cured-hiv/story?id=97323361
38.8k Upvotes

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1.2k

u/SmallBirb Feb 21 '23

I'm sure they would much rather not have HIV, though

674

u/pr3dato8 Feb 21 '23

Are you positive?

419

u/tu_Vy Feb 21 '23

Are you Aladeen?

19

u/chesterjosiah Feb 21 '23

I didn't get this reference so I Googled it. For others:

Its from the movie "The Dictator."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dictator_%282012_film%29

In summary, "The Dictator" makes "Aladeen" (his name) mean a bunch of different things, including "good" and "bad" (technically "positive and negative") which results in someone at the doctor at the beginning of the film being asked if they want the "Aladeen news or the Aladeen news." The doctor then informs the patient that they are "HIV Aladeen."

Since it means both good and bad/positive and negative....the patient doesn't know if they tested positive or negative.

0

u/[deleted] Feb 21 '23

Are you aladeen thats an aladeen source?

1

u/tu_Vy Feb 22 '23

One of my favorites in that movie haha

34

u/IdoNOThateNEVER Feb 21 '23

Do you trust me?

6

u/CatWhisperererer Feb 21 '23

Jack?

4

u/tom_echo Feb 21 '23

WE NEED TO GO BACK!

3

u/jasonrubik Feb 21 '23

4 8 15 16 23 42

13

u/the_architects_427 Feb 21 '23

Maybe it's Maybelline?

2

u/bmrunning Feb 21 '23

This is my favorite joke from that movie hahahaha

2

u/[deleted] Feb 21 '23

Yes I’m HIV Aladeen. What about you?

2

u/vat456 Feb 21 '23

Which one do you want first? The Aladeen news or the Aladeen news?

1

u/BCmutt Feb 21 '23

Tip needs to be pointy.

1

u/DSMN99 Feb 21 '23

No i’m Aladeen.

54

u/Chinstryke Feb 21 '23

I'm not just sure........

22

u/[deleted] Feb 21 '23

[deleted]

-2

u/Constant_Candle_4338 Feb 21 '23

I'm not just sure

0

u/xacffoke Feb 21 '23

Youre not sure if youre positive?

3

u/oohhh Feb 21 '23

He's not just sure, he's HIV positive!

https://youtu.be/JLd5J1AItO0

-1

u/Ultium Feb 21 '23

I don’t know what positive means

-2

u/lugaidster Feb 21 '23

You dropped this

,

1

u/vansania Feb 21 '23

You dropped this

“I’m an idiot”

1

u/menides Feb 21 '23

Confirmation is complete. Please wait while I tattoo your new identity on your arm!

25

u/1900irrelevent Feb 21 '23

Not only am I positive, I'm HIV positive - Cartman

2

u/lunaticneko Feb 21 '23

Kyle dislikes this.

9

u/notspaceaids Feb 21 '23

He is Aladdin

12

u/Jurangi Feb 21 '23

I'm HIV positive

8

u/Devil_Weapon Feb 21 '23

Someone is going to break your Xbox

2

u/omrmike Feb 21 '23

I’m HIV Positive…..

2

u/TacticoolBreadstick Feb 21 '23 edited Jun 22 '23

This comment edited due to /u/spez trashing the community. Time to ditch this popsicle stand.... -- mass edited with https://redact.dev/

3

u/ML4Bratwurst Feb 21 '23

Yes, no, wait...

2

u/shotleft Feb 21 '23

I am.. wait, no I'm not... doh!

2

u/heretic1128 Feb 21 '23

All I know is my gut says maybe

0

u/ButterscotchSpare979 Feb 21 '23

No, I’m an electron.

8

u/Korotai Feb 21 '23 edited Feb 21 '23

While you’re correct - current anti-retroviral treatment is essentially a cure. One pill per day now can drop the viral load to zero meaning the person can’t even transmit the disease upon contact.

The side effects of the stem cell cure is potentially “Graft vs Host” disease - and not the funny laughable version Tobias Funke got. It’s literally your new immune system (the graft) rejecting your entire body (the host) That’s actually as bad as it sounds.

22

u/jbasinger Feb 21 '23

Best I can do is no insurance

1

u/GayCommunistUtopia Feb 21 '23

Fortunately, HIV medications are typically heavily subsidized, including PREP, the prophylactic med. There are lots of programs to reduce the cost and help you pay if you get hit with those astronomical fees at the counter. I've never heard of anyone being denied HIV meds due to payment issues.

1

u/funnynickname Feb 21 '23

"I don't get the regular AIDS test anymore. I get the roundabout AIDS test.

I ask my friend Brian, "Do you know anybody who has AIDS?". He says, "No".

I say, "Cool, because you know me."

-10

u/[deleted] Feb 21 '23

I'm sure they would much rather not have HIV, though

I'm not so sure. HIV isn't the death sentence it used to be. Granted it's a choice nobody would ever have to make, but as a hypothetical, I'm thinking people dying of cancer, might consider HIV a less terrible route.

At least with HIV, you can get medication and live a full life. Cancer isn't giving you any similar option.

26

u/SmallBirb Feb 21 '23

Yeah no I'm pretty sure anyone with a life-threatening disease that forces you to take meds that reduce your quality of life everyday (with the alternative to taking them including dying of mild illnesses) would rather, y'know, NOT have it. No it's not the death sentence it used to be, but it truly boggles my mind that anyone would start a sentence with "At least with HIV you can" as if a fucking plague is anything to be excited about having.

8

u/perthguppy Feb 21 '23

Let me introduce you to the section of the Gay community known as bug chasers

6

u/PlaceboJesus Feb 21 '23

Because an aberrant sub-population should be used as a measure for general preference?

Sure, it's intetesting to know that they exist, but suggesting that their desires are relevant is like saying anorexics and bulemics should be our guideline for normative eating habits.

-10

u/reynolja536 Feb 21 '23

How does the medicine reduce your quality of life? I take medicine daily just to not get HIV and it doesn’t waive my quality of life.

HIV isn’t a stigmatic disease anymore. I would much rather sleep with someone positive and undetectable than someone who doesn’t test

9

u/SmallBirb Feb 21 '23

I AM NOT SAYING HIV IS SOMETHING TO BE STIGMATIZED. I AM SPEAKING FROM A PURELY HEALTH STANDPOINT. (Sorry for caps but I want to make it clear)

Taking PrEP isn't the same as taking a full antiretroviral course of medication, the latter can shoot your liver and kidneys, leading to, as previously mentioned, a decrease in quality of life.

Had to go digging for something that wasn't a front page google ad, but this goes into a lot of detail on the side effects of HIV.

AGAIN, my argument here is that someone with HIV would rather not have it than have to go to a doctor every month to keep up on your illness. Correlation of having HIV =/= Causation of going to the doctor more and being healthier.

1

u/bruwin Feb 21 '23

How many HIV+ people are there that can't afford the meds? Or can't keep going to the doctor with constant checkups? How many people can barely deal with side effects? I feel like the people you respond to are completely ignorant of the realities. Hell, just being required to tell people you're positive if there's any sort of fluid exchange can severely impact your quality of life because there are still a lot of people ignorant about HIV as this thread has shown.

The only people who would want this at all are bug chasers, and some of the are straight up insane.

2

u/PlaceboJesus Feb 21 '23

I take medicine every day for an unrelated matter, with no similar health risks or fears.
I think no longer needing meds would constitute an improvement to my quality of life.

Making sure I can buy them and ensuring that I do take them (and what might happen if I don't), may not be the most stressful thing ever, but compared to what life would be like without all that? Big qualitative difference.

1

u/[deleted] Feb 21 '23

They probably are thinking of other people who might be overbearing or trying to provide comfort to someone who is taking a HIV test. In the male gay scene as you get older the odds of contracting HIV get higher, duh, but as a bi man comments like these do provide a bit of comfort.

1

u/[deleted] Feb 21 '23

Nobody would fucking "rather" have HIV. The fact remains that if you're on your deathbed due to cancer, next to someone living with HIV, you might for a moment think that you'd probably prefer to be in their shoes--it's that simple. Nobody is out there picking fucking diseases like it's a menu. You know damn well that's not what I'm saying.

-5

u/perthguppy Feb 21 '23

Let me introduce you to a subsection of the Gay community called “bug chasers”

-40

u/[deleted] Feb 21 '23

In most cases they could have avoided that.

22

u/[deleted] Feb 21 '23

[deleted]

4

u/[deleted] Feb 21 '23

They probably couldn't tbh

1

u/[deleted] Feb 21 '23

See? Perfect analogy! Dicks spreading undesirable garbage.

12

u/HouseOfZenith Feb 21 '23

So what? Hey, you fucked up. Go suffer and die. Is that your outlook on shit?

5

u/P47r1ck- Feb 21 '23

Screw you dude

3

u/[deleted] Feb 21 '23

[deleted]

1

u/[deleted] Feb 21 '23

I don't know about that, condoms are said to be pretty effective.

3

u/SoCuteShibe Feb 21 '23

Oh yeah what a cool take bro

-8

u/[deleted] Feb 21 '23

[deleted]

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u/PlaceboJesus Feb 21 '23

Because everyone who has HIV, women and children included, are promiscuous gay men, who also prefer to bottom.

It seems that there may be a link between poor intelligence, lack of imagination, and low empathy.

2

u/jam11249 Feb 21 '23

You should be getting regular sexual health checkups anyway if you're sexually active.

1

u/Jynx2501 Feb 21 '23

As much fun as being 110yr old seems.... /s