More than 50 percent of respondents have negative impressions of people with HIV and AIDS, a survey released on Monday showed.
The survey found that 40 percent of respondents had false or negative ideas about people with HIV, such as the belief they contracted the virus due to sexual promiscuity or because they are members of the LGBT community, said Zhuang Ping (莊苹), the head of the Taiwan AIDS Nurses’ Association.
The survey showed that 46 percent of respondents thought the disease was inevitably deadly, while 5 percent believed it to be solely sexually transmitted.
Eighty percent of respondents said that they were knowledgeable about HIV/AIDS, and most said that they did not consider themselves at risk of contracting the virus and had never thought of getting an HIV test or did not know how to get tested, the survey showed.
It also found that 70 percent did not know that daily medication reduces the risk of getting HIV if they were exposed to the virus.
Fewer than 50 percent of respondents said that people with HIV should not feel ashamed, while 45 percent did not agree that people with HIV should receive equitable and friendly treatment.
The unfriendly attitude toward people with HIV/AIDS can be detrimental to preventing and controlling the disease, Zhuang said, calling on people to support those who are HIV-positive.
If people with HIV receive antiretroviral therapy and maintain an undetectable viral load of less than 200 copies per milliliter for more than six months, they are not considered infectious, said Hung Chien-ching (洪健清), head of the Taiwan AIDS Society.
Taiwan should promote the concept that “undetectable equals untransmittable,” which is based on the scientific consensus that people with HIV who are undergoing an effective antiretroviral therapy and have undetectable levels of the virus will not transmit HIV sexually, Hung said.
The online survey was conducted from May 21 to May 29 among 500 men and 500 women aged 18 to 50.
‘NON-RED’: Taiwan and Ireland should work together to foster a values-driven, democratic economic system, leveraging their complementary industries, Lai said President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday expressed hopes for closer ties between Taiwan and Ireland, and that both countries could collaborate to create a values-driven, democracy-centered economic system. He made the remarks while meeting with an Irish cross-party parliamentary delegation visiting Taiwan. The delegation, led by John McGuinness, deputy speaker of the Irish house of representatives, known as the Dail, includes Irish lawmakers Malcolm Byrne, Barry Ward, Ken O’Flynn and Teresa Costello. McGuinness, who chairs the Ireland-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Association, is a friend of Taiwan, and under his leadership, the association’s influence has grown over the past few years, Lai said. Ireland is
A saleswoman, surnamed Chen (陳), earlier this month was handed an 18-month prison term for embezzling more than 2,000 pairs of shoes while working at a department store in Tainan. The Tainan District Court convicted Chen of embezzlement in a ruling on July 7, sentencing her to prison for illegally profiting NT$7.32 million (US$248,929) at the expense of her employer. Chen was also given the opportunity to reach a financial settlement, but she declined. Chen was responsible for the sales counter of Nike shoes at Tainan’s Shinkong Mitsukoshi Zhongshan branch, where she had been employed since October 2019. She had previously worked
TRANSPORT DISRUPTION: More than 100 ferry services were suspended due to rough seas and strong winds, and eight domestic flights were canceled, the ministry said Tropical Storm Wipha intensified slightly yesterday as it passed closest to Taiwan, dumping more than 200mm of rain in Hualien and Taitung counties, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 11am, Wipha was about 210km southwest of Cape Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻) and was moving west-northwest at 27km per hour (kph). The storm carried maximum sustained winds of 101kph and gusts reaching 126kph, with a 150km radius of strong winds, CWA data showed. Wipha’s outer rainbands began sweeping across Taiwan early yesterday, delivering steady rainfall in the east and scattered showers in other regions, forecasters said. More heavy rain was expected, especially in the eastern
FINAL COUNTDOWN: About 50,000 attended a pro-recall rally yesterday, while the KMT and the TPP plan to rally against the recall votes today Democracy activists, together with arts and education representatives, yesterday organized a motorcade, while thousands gathered on Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei in the evening in support of tomorrow’s recall votes. Recall votes for 24 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers and suspended Hsinchu City mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) are to be held tomorrow, while recall votes for seven other KMT lawmakers are scheduled for Aug. 23. The afternoon motorcade was led by the Spring Breeze Culture and Arts Foundation, the Tyzen Hsiao Foundation and the Friends of Lee Teng-hui Association, and was joined by delegates from the Taiwan Statebuilding Party and the Taiwan Solidarity
RSS