This brings us to another question: how are couples in which one partner has HIV publicizing the concept that a partner who is HIV negative has not developed the virus? (Some of these couples are even having children.)
Relationships like these are called “mixed-status” relationships. This means that one partner has the virus, but the other doesn’t. Terms for these relationships can include: serodiscordant, discordant, serodivergent, magnetic, and HIV-positive/negative
There are now ways to lower the risk of transmission to a negative partner. That’s because those with a high risk of HIV are now given a new medication called Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP). This is a combination of two medications (tenofovir and emtricitabine) used in the treatment of HIV.
PrEP isn’t a one-time thing. It must be taken daily to work effectively. When a person follows the prescribed regimen, the risk of contracting HIV sexually is lowered by over 90 percent. However, the risk is only decreased by 70 percent in those who share needles.
That said, new cases of HIV still exist. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), about 1,217,400 people over the age of 13 are living with HIV. However, nearly thirteen percent of these people don’t know they’re infected. In addition, about 50,000 new HIV infections occur each year.
Celebrities who have opened up about being positive have tremendously helped with HIV awareness. One of the first of these was Magic Johnson. Magic Johnson originally created the Magic Johnson Foundation (MJF) to help fight the AIDS epidemic through grant making. These days, MJF works to educate urban communities about HIV.