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| HIV/AIDS in Acapulco, Mexico |
HIV & AIDS in AcapulcoHIV/AIDS to put in mildly are all the rage and getting more popular by the day. Unlike the Brazilian government that has a truly proactive, progressive approach to preventing the spread of the disease, Mexico has been caught with tier pants down, pardon the pun. In Brazil, such polices as intense media awareness campaigns to going out on a limb and doing battle with the U.S. government and the pharmaceutical industry by manufacturing and distributing their own free anti-AIDS drug cocktails to infected persons have been both bold and effective in preventing a massive outbreak of AIDS in Brazil. Outside of a few otherwise good television and radio spots, Mexico has been way behind the curve in the battle against HIV/AIDS, has no serious program of drug distribution and these shortcomings are beginning to show up in places like Acapulco.
There is no way for me to tounge in cheek this subject so It'll give it to you straight with no chaser or like a tequila with no salt and no lime as the case may be. According to the most recent World Health Organization standards, Mexico is still has a relatively low rate of AIDS at about %0.4 of the adult population. In Mexico, like in many Latin American countries, heterosexual sex is the primary method of transmission. When compared to Mexico's closest neighbors, US at 0.6%, Guatemala at 1%, Honduras at 1.2%, the Dominican Republic at 2.5%; and Haiti at a whopping 5% of the adult population, Mexico is looking pretty good. Only Cuba has the disease under control with an infection rate so small it hardly bears mention, but at a serious cost to personal freedom.
Don't let this good news lull you into a false sense of security, however. As the devil is in the details.
While details about Acapulco are sketchy, anecdotal evidence such as stories from hospital employees indicate that HIV is on the rise here. That makes sense. If the stats for Mexico as a whole is %0.4 of the adult population, it stands to reason that some places, like Mexico City or the hedonistic Acapulco would drive the stats upward while conservative places, like say Puebla or Guanajuato would pull it back down. The situation becomes more alarming as you consider that these stats represents the entire adult population, but as you break it down into young sexually active adults, bar sluts and playboys, hookers and the rest, the rate goes up, up, up. If I had to make an educated guess, I would say that the rate in Acapulco is still lower than US cities such as New York, San Francisco or Miami, but that is hardly cause to celebrate.
When it comes to HIV/AIDS I think Nancy Reagan or someone said abstinence is the best policy. Well, maybe Nancy Reagan said "Just Say No to Drugs" but you get he point. Frankly I've never met a person that is willingly celibate so for the rest of us that leaves me with this piece of advice: condoms, condoms, condoms. And go with what you know - Trojans. If you have to use a no name Mexican condom you may want to consider double bagging. Mexicans make their condoms like they make their tostadas, thin, fragile and highly subject to breakage.
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| What's happening
in Acapulco? |
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