ARHIVELE OLTENIEI - Universitatea din Craiova

246Rodica Ţuguidisease. 9 Decreasing the immunity of the organism is also a characteristic of thesero-positive. 10 Also it is appreciated that the transmission of the virus inRomania has happened because of those who left Romania after 1989 to go toother countries. Upon their return home they have contaminated their familiesor other persons from the places where they returned from 11 .The priests are informed about discrimination and marginalization towhich the sero-positives are subjected, sometimes thru a personal experience andsometimes thru media 12 .In general, in Romania, information about HIV was available only after1990 with a very few exceptions: “I would like to say that the first time when Iheard about HIV was in 1998. I was doing my military service and people werespeaking very little about this disease. It was only on foreign radio stations thatthey talked about it. After 1990, while I was in Faculty, different Christianmissionaries came and presented diapositives and different materials. Thendiscussions in the press and tv started,” a priest from Timisoara has said.It seems that this “silence” about AIDS in Romania makes thepopulation less informed about the history of the disease and mostly about theway it starts and the”awareness about it’s danger.” If the first hints reflectaccurately, the HIV virus exists for a long time. HIV as a disease appeared at thebeginning of the 1980’s. The fight against the infectious disease reached itsclimax when the successes of medicine generated vaccines and antibiotherapy.The problems of public health were now focused on planning the preventioncampaigns (vaccine and hygiene) coupled with discovering as early as possiblethe individuals touched by infectious diseases in order to treat them. In thejurisdiction of medical and scientific interests, the degenerative diseases (ascancer is) or genetic diseases succeeded to be the first priorities before the virusinfections. Policies of public health have followed the same movement towardsbe delayed for those who have been infected and can be treated, but as we read the medication isvery expensive.” (priest Iasi)9 “It is transmitted by injecting a drug, so we need to pay attention to the drug use”.(priest Iaşi)10 “Having AIDS causes the immunity of the organism to decrease and all the diseases finda proper field of manifestation; it is gotten mainly by sexual intercourse but if it also bleeds and if theone that has this virus is touched by other people they can be infected ; from the syringes that haven’tbeen used only by one person the virus was spread. Because of ignorance, many children from thesame village have been contaminated by using the same syringe.” (priest Bucharest).11 “Once many people left after ‘89, that part of the population had gone to othercountries where they wanted to make easy money. They have fallen into another sin and comingback to their families have made it possible for the sickness to be transmitted to the others in thefamily and into the community. For example, in my village where I’m a priest, there are 3-4 casesof AIDS. One of those who have come back went to the medical facility to have an injection and asyringe that was not sterilized was used. There was no other way to get this virus since we didn’thave a case. A foreign person has come and brought in the disease”. ( priest Constanţa)12 “We have also found out about the discrimination to which the HIV infected are sujectedto, which many times is not of their own fault for having gotten sick. They bear the discriminationfrom other people at school and society feels also obliged to isolate them.” (priest Timiş)