Healthy live(r)s
WHEN the existence of the Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) entered the human consciousness 30 years ago, it struck terror in the hearts, minds and imagination of everyone. This was because the main method of transmission for the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), which causes AIDS, was sexual intercourse. And, unlike intravenous drug-taking (another risk factor), sex was something that affected most humans. Once the fear was somewhat understood, it revived the understanding of the importance of practising safe sex (sex with either a regular partner or protected sex). Since then, ignorance, awareness and apathy about AIDS have moved like the Mexican wave -- ebbing and flowing with the human consciousness.
In the last three decades, the world has also experienced several pandemics and near-pandemics, like the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), avian influenza A(H5N1), and swine influenza A(H1N1). And each time, we humans have been astonished by how quickly and effectively these viruses can sweep through communities and fell even the seemingly strongest among us. And, as if afflicted by amnesia, once the pandemic bells have stopped ringing, we return to a "normal" state of ignorant bliss; until we are awakened and "astonished" by the next pandemic.
That we are repeatedly astonished is the most astounding thing; especially when the preventive measures for these viruses are almost always the same. The concept of safe sex was not invented when AIDS was discovered; sexually-transmitted illnesses and diseases have, and always, remain a constant threat to human health. Good hygiene and sanitation -- the regular washing of hands, proper sneezing and coughing etiquette, and fastidious toilet hygiene -- can ward off a host of infections. Rather than for emergency contingency only, these health and cleanliness practices should be the default plan all the time.
That we are repeatedly astonished is the most astounding thing; especially when the preventive measures for these viruses are almost always the same. The concept of safe sex was not invented when AIDS was discovered; sexually-transmitted illnesses and diseases have, and always, remain a constant threat to human health. Good hygiene and sanitation -- the regular washing of hands, proper sneezing and coughing etiquette, and fastidious toilet hygiene -- can ward off a host of infections. Rather than for emergency contingency only, these health and cleanliness practices should be the default plan all the time.
If humans practised safe sex and good hygiene, the prevalence of hepatitis, the causing agent of chronic liver disease, would not be as great as it were today. Worldwide, chronic liver disease affects one in 12 people. In Malaysia, it is one in 20. Five per cent of all Malaysians (1.4 million people) suffer from chronic hepatitis B. Those that aren't severely affected by it pass it on to others. Many are unaware that their livers have been infected until it is too late. Yet, preventing it from happening in the first place is relatively easy; practise safe sex, don't share needles, wash your hands properly and often, go for regular health checks, and get vaccinated. But because liver disease is a slow progressive illness that can take half a lifetime before revealing itself, it is a disease that is less well-known than heart disease, whose effects are more dramatic. But it is there. And we should stop letting our apathy take us by surprise, again and again.
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