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HIV and Blindness: Social Isolation Compounded
Acquired Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) or Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS), affects an estimated 42 million people worldwide, nearly 30 million of whom live in Sub-Saharan Africa. Another 1.5 million sufferers live in North America and Western Europe.
This disease, which is passed on through the exchange of bodily fluids, targets and destroys the immune system. As a consequence, those who have it are more prone to opportunistic infections due to compromised immunity; for example, normally harmless conditions like cytomegalovirus can cause vision loss through retinitis. Though there are medications capable of slowing the progress of infections like this, they are not always effective or available – and availability is a big concern in developing countries, where the bulk of HIV and AIDS cases are occurring. New technological advances and greater access to medical treatment are allowing people with HIV in those areas to live longer, but because of an inability to obtain certain anti-viral drugs, such people are also more likely to lose their sight.
More affluent regions have their own problems; discrimination against people with HIV or AIDS is still widespread despite years of public education, hitting the visually impaired doubly hard. A fear of facing discriminatory practices is discouraging HIV-positive people from seeking blindness rehabilitation, detracting from the quality of their lives. This can lead to isolation and depression, especially in those who have not been taught strategies for coping with blindness.
HIV cannot be passed on through casual contact with an affected person, nor is infection a punitive result of “bad behaviour.” The best way to stop the spread of HIV is to become educated; until this disease is eradicated, knowledge is our most potent weapon against it. Increased awareness, brought about by the social integration of those with the condition, will decrease the likelihood of its spread. And for the blind, who may already be socially isolated, this acceptance is even more important – around the world, and here at home.
For more information on HIV and the eye, check out the CNIB factsheet (Canada). The National Eye Institute (US) also keeps up to date on news related to treating opportunistic eye infections in people who have HIV or AIDS.
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