AI Summary
The article suggests retiring the term AIDS in favor of more descriptive language due to its association with stigma and negative connotations. The term became redundant after the discovery of HIV, but its use persists, leading to misperceptions about HIV as a terminal illness. The viewpoint emphasizes the need for language that accurately reflects the current understanding of HIV and promotes more compassionate discourse surrounding the condition.
The term acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) was coined to describe a condition marked by weakened cell-mediated immunity in the absence of a clear cause. Due to unfortunate messaging during the early days of the HIV epidemic, this term became loaded with stigma. After the discovery of HIV, the term AIDS became redundant, but its use has persisted and has come to embody negative connotations in the current landscape of the HIV epidemic. People commonly associate AIDS with a terminal illness.