万花筒 2008-12-02&12-04 艾滋病，美国人耻于提及的

24-year-old Antron Reshaud knows a thing or two about stigma¹.

 

“I found out that I was HIV positive it was around 2004, when my mother found out, it was just one of the reasons why she decided² to put me out.”

 

Reshaud was diagnosed at age 20 and the discrimination began almost immediately.

 

”It just hurts me so much when I hear the things, you know, the stories about how people are constantly kicked out of their homes and how they have to go to work and they are, you know, made fun of, or they are fired from their jobs because they happen to be positive.”

 

It’s 2008, more than 25 years into the HIV-AIDS epidemic³ and still people who are infected are often unable to avoid the stigma that surrounds this disease.

 

“It’s a matter of pure ignorance, it’s a matter of prejudice.” Frank Oldham is the President and CEO of the National Association of people with AIDs, he says that prejudice is deeply rooted in the belief that AIDs is still a gay disease and the consequences can be fatal. “It acts a barrier to people getting tested, getting the HIV test, knowing their HIV status, and getting into care or treatment because they are afraid to be identified as someone living with HIV-AIDS.”

 

And for those who don’t have the disease. “There is the fear of contagion⁴, a simple fear of becoming infected by HIV, are not really understanding or knowing ways in which these disease is transmitted.”

 

Last year, a three-year-old HIV positive boy was banned from using a public swimming pool and shower in Alabama. A few weeks ago, students at high school in St. Louis were ostracized⁵ when someone connected with their school tested positive for the disease.

 

A survey by the M.A.C Aids Fund found more than 30% of Americans are uncomfortable working with someone with HIV or Aids, and that includes healthcare professionals. “If the doctor doesn’t, claims he doesn’t know how to treat them, they really don’t want to treat them…”

 

One in five Americans with HIV doesn’t even know he or she has the disease, when HIV is diagnosed late, the results can be deadly. “More than 40% of people who are diagnosed with the HIV in the United States, progress to full-blown AIDs within a year of their diagnoses.” Reshaud hopes to reduce that number by convincing others to get tested and seek the proper treatment.

 

Elizabeth Cohen, CNN, Atlanta. 

 

1 stigma   

n.耻辱，污名；(花的)柱头

参考例句：

• Being an unmarried mother used to carry a social stigma.做未婚母亲在社会上曾是不光彩的事。
• The stigma of losing weighed heavily on the team.失败的耻辱让整个队伍压力沉重。

2 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

3 epidemic   

n.流行病；盛行；adj.流行性的，流传极广的

参考例句：

• That kind of epidemic disease has long been stamped out.那种传染病早已绝迹。
• The authorities tried to localise the epidemic.当局试图把流行病限制在局部范围。

4 contagion   

n.(通过接触的疾病)传染；蔓延

参考例句：

• A contagion of fear swept through the crowd.一种恐惧感在人群中迅速蔓延开。
• The product contagion effect has numerous implications for marketing managers and retailers.产品传染效应对市场营销管理者和零售商都有很多的启示。

5 ostracized   

v.放逐( ostracize的过去式和过去分词 )；流放；摈弃；排斥

参考例句：

• He was ostracized by his colleagues for refusing to support the strike. 他因拒绝支持罢工而受到同事的排斥。
• The family were ostracized by the neighborhood. 邻居们都不理睬那一家人。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》