Just recently it was announced that the second infant ever to go through a clinical antiretroviral trial for HIV is now completely free of the disease. Doctors say it is too early to tell whether the child is completely in remission, but studies show that there is no trace of the life-threatening disease present.

Upon hearing about this, I was shocked that there wasn’t a bigger reaction from the media. This is big news, after all. HIV has stigmatized the gay community now for decades, and the fact that there is progress like this for treatment really is something that needs to be publicized and celebrated.

Nowadays, people no longer seem to think of HIV as a serious issue compared to how it was back in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s. But the disease is not something to take lightly. The AIDS crisis was one of the darkest times for the LGBT community. With gay men being completely dehumanized and made to feel as though they were disease-ridden monsters, this crisis created a lot of heartache, and many young lives were lost.

We must never forget what happened back then. HIV is not just a gay issue. It affects everyone, and the disease doesn’t discriminate. With over one million people living with HIV in the U.S. alone and over 15 percent of those people being unaware of their HIV status, it is extremely important that the LGBT community takes this disease seriously. All people who could be at risk of infection need to take it seriously. All it takes is knowing your status, practicing safe sex and fighting to put an end to this life-threatening disease.

Our thoughts and behaviors on this issue, especially for those of us not old enough to have experienced the impact of the AIDS crisis, have to change. In no way am I saying that we need to be fearful of the disease as people were back then. I am simply stating that this issue didn’t just disappear. Sometimes, though, we may treat it as it did.

With medical advances in fighting the disease making leaps and bounds, celebrating those accomplishments while still being aware of the threat that it poses is key to living responsibly in a world where HIV is still a very prevalent problem.

dhaynie@mavs.coloradomesa.edu