Madam, - I read the article entitled "An Irishman's HIV story" (Magazine, January 27th) with astonishment that it was even considered fit for print. As a HIV-positive woman, one of the 40 million that the writer refers to as having no happy twist in the tale, I am outraged. Being diagnosed HIV-positive can be a life-changing experience.
It seems that Mr Malone has not learned anything from this experience if all it amounted to was "the perfect anecdote". In future, I would encourage The Irish Timesto publish articles that are more informed on issues relating to HIV and Aids and more respectful towards women.
We should remember that there are millions of people already living with HIV who search for hope in every article. The writer needs to re-examine his beliefs and perceptions and become informed. HIV-positive women and men are having healthy babies, HIV-negative babies, all the time, even in poor countries and people are living longer, due to the provision of anti-retroviral drugs. Roll-out may be slow, but it is happening, and more and more people are accessing treatment. - Yours, etc,
SOPHIE DILMITIS, (HIV-positive for 13 years), Geneva, Switzerland.