ARHIVELE OLTENIEI - Universitatea din Craiova

The “HIV/AIDS” Phenomenon level of knowledge perceptions and atitudes 245considering the local or regional mentalities, the attitudes towards the mainEuropean values and the access to the information.Even if in the same country it seems that there are big differencesconcerning the spirit of tolerance, the attitudes towards the people who are seropositive,the way in which they are treated by certain social categories.Nevertheless there are differences on the level of knowledge by the populationof certain general information about the HIV/AIDS virus, its manifestation, thehistory of its appearance, ways of contamination and of prevention, but mostlyin the attitudes towards the sero-positives. The priests who have participated inthe focus groups have emphasized especially this situation.The group referred to the fact that AIDS is transmitted ”sexually andthru blood transfer” 5 (this is why the fear of contamination and the behavior ofexcluding the sick people from school) and its spreading is mostly the result of adoubtful morality, of infidelity, of the concessive spirit of the modern societywhich allows the young people to start their sexual life before marriage 6,7 . It hasbeen emphasized also as a way of transmission the negligence of hospitals,related namely to the unsterilized medical instruments or uncontrolledtransfusions, as well as the transfer from the sero-positive mother to the unbornbaby 8 . The use of drugs remains among the leading factors of spreading the5 In the first year, the project is implemented in eight pilot eparchies, from nine counties(«The A» Region): Timisoara (Timis county), Craiova (Dolj Conty), Slobozia (Ialomita County)Tomis (Constanta Couinty) Severin (Mehedinti County), Iasi (Iasi County), Roman (Bacau Countyand a part of Neamt County), Bucharest (Sector 1). The target eparchies for the second year(«Region» B), are: Cluj, (Cluj County and Bistrita from Bistrita Nasaud County), Alba Iulia, Sibiu(Brasov County). Huşi (Vaslui County), Lowside Danube (Galati County), Bucharest (sector 4)6 “Specifically because of infidelity, this situation has created the death of the humanbeing because of the pleasures of which he is searching. But not very much has been done either tospread the information or to prevent the appearance of the sickness.” (priest Timis)7 “AIDS is a sickness which has done great damage, and as far as I know is sexuallytransmitted and thru blood transfer and not by living together. So the fear of receiving a sick childin school is not justified. They know that this sickness has spread also because the young peoplestart early their sexual life. In the past, sexual life was more controlled. Abstinence until marrigewas a part of sexual education. Not even a priest could get married unless the bride was a virgin.That was the custom. Now we are very concessive” (Priest Dolj); „I know that the HIV virus istransmitted especially in the sexual way, but mostly thru the body fluids exogenisis and I alsoknow that this sickness kills. “ (priest Timis)8 “HIV is a sickness which affects the immunity of the organism; the main way oftransmission is sexual but it also spreads thru transfusions and different unsterilized instrumentswhich are not disposable as well as on the hereditary level from a sero-positive mother to the child.How is it gotten? As it has been said before, it is not gotten thru a kiss, or by dirty hands or bycontaminated dishes or common covivance”. (priest Dolj); “The virus attacks the immunity of thehuman beingThe organism weakens and finally can’t take it anymore. The sickness is transmitedmainly thru sexual intercourse with persons that have been infected, thru blood transfusions inmedical units which don’t use sterilized syringes, etc.Cases of children which have been treated in a certain period in the hospitals and havebeen infected are known. Treatment for healing, as far as we know, doesn’t exist. The sickness can