[audio:http://www.wdde.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/AidsInterview.mp3|titles= Delaware Public Media's Cathy Carter interviews AIDS Delaware executive director John Gardner.]
Monday is World AIDS Day, the annual global AIDS awareness and remembrance commemoration.
Since 1988, the worldwide event has aimed to unite people in the fight against HIV and highlight the ongoing threat of the virus, which attacks the body’s immune system.
Many scientific advances have been made in HIV treatment and health professionals understand much more about the condition.
That's led to more people than ever living with HIV, leaving some concerned about complacency when it comes to contracting the virus.
John Gardner, Executive Director of AIDS Delaware, says since HIV is no longer a death sentence, many young people think the virus isn’t much of a threat because medication is available.
“What they don’t realize is that as you age and you have HIV in your body and you can never get rid of it, even if you have a suppressed viral load, its still in there, it complicates every other condition and illness that we all get as we’re aging," said Gardner. "It's heart disease, hypertension, diabetes; it's all just a little different if you’re HIV positive in your treatment.”
Gardner and other activists note that HIV rates are on the rise among young people aged 13-19 and black and Hispanic youth are especially affected.
A World Aids Day Educational Forum takes place Saturday at Bancroft Elementary School in Wilmington. The event is free and open to the public.
