Robin's HIV: Your
Questions Answered
General Hospital heroine Robin Scorpio has lived with HIV for the past thirteen years, and she's currently expecting a baby. Many viewers have had questions about Robin's storyline. You've asked us how Robin's HIV-positive status can affect her pregnancy, her romantic life and more. ABC.com got answers from the medical experts at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and its affiliate, Hollywood, Health & Society. If you're concerned about Robin and her baby, we hope you'll find this Q&A both helpful and informative.
1. What's the difference between HIV and AIDS?
HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) is the virus that causes the illness AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome). Being infected with HIV does not mean that a person has AIDS. However, if left untreated, HIV infection damages a person's immune system and usually progresses to AIDS. AIDS is the most serious stage of HIV infection. It results from the destruction of the infected person's immune system by HIV.
Acquired means that the disease is not hereditary but develops after birth from contact with a disease-causing agent. In this case, HIV. HIV may be passed from one person to another when infected blood, semen, or vaginal secretions come in contact with an uninfected person's broken skin or mucous membranes. Mucous membranes are wet, thin tissues found in certain openings to the human body. These can include the mouth, eyes, nose, vagina, rectum, and opening of the penis.
Immunodeficiency means that the disease is characterized by a weakening of the immune system. HIV damages the immune system and weakens it. Your immune system is your body's defense system. Cells of your immune system fight off infection and other diseases. If your immune system does not work well, you are at risk for serious and life-threatening infections and cancers. HIV attacks and destroys special disease-fighting cells of the immune system called T-cells (also called CD4 cells), leaving the body with a weakened defense against infections and cancer.
Syndrome – refers to a group of symptoms that collectively indicate or characterize a disease. In the case of AIDS this can include the development of certain infections and cancers, as well as a decrease in the number of T-cells in a person's immune system.
For more information, see
http://aidsinfo.nih.gov/contentfiles/HIVandItsTreatment_cbrochure_en.pdf
http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/resources/qa/qa1.htm
http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/resources/qa/qa2.htm
2. I've heard Robin reference her low viral load and the HIV cocktail on the show. What does this mean?
The viral load is the amount of HIV in a person's blood. A low viral load means there is a low level of HIV in a person's blood. An undetectable viral load means no HIV can be detected. It does not mean that the virus is no longer in the blood; it does mean that the amount of HIV in the blood is so low that it cannot be detected by viral load tests. Persons infected with HIV remain infected for the rest of their lives and can infect others. Doctors measure viral load to see if the drugs used to treat HIV infection are working. These drugs stop HIV from growing and prevent the virus from further damaging a person's immune system. These drugs are always used in a combination. That combination is often called a "cocktail."
For more information, see
http://aidsinfo.nih.gov/contentfiles/HIVandItsTreatment_cbrochure_en.pdf
3. How likely is it that with her low viral load, someone exposed to Robin's blood would contract HIV?
By taking her HIV drugs as prescribed, Robin has been able to keep her viral load low and remains healthy. However, she will always have HIV in her body, even if her doctor cannot detect it with current tests. Having a low viral load reduces, but can never remove, the risk that someone could be infected if exposed to her blood.
For more information, see
http://aidsinfo.nih.gov/contentfiles/UnderstandingHIVPrevention_FS_en.pdf
4. Even though Robin is HIV-positive can she still be sexually active?
Sexual activity is an important part of many persons' lives, and many persons living with HIV remain sexually active. Only abstinence (or not having sex) can absolutely protect a person from passing their HIV to other persons through sex. By having her male sexual partner use condoms correctly and consistently every time they have intercourse, Robin can reduce her risk of passing on her HIV infection to him. In cases where the condom breaks or unprotected sex may have occurred, persons exposed to HIV should seek immediate medical attention so that their doctor can prescribe drugs that may prevent him or her from becoming infected with HIV.
5. Robin learned she was infected with HIV in 1995. What are some of the medical advancements made since her diagnosis?
Since 1995, there has been tremendous progress in treating HIV infection. In the last twelve years, more drugs have been discovered to treat HIV. These drugs are more potent (stronger), easier for patients to take, and cause fewer side effects. Ten years ago a person diagnosed with HIV who had not developed AIDS often had to take many pills at least two or three times a day, and these medicines often caused unpleasant side effects. A person diagnosed with HIV infection today who has not developed AIDS can often take a single once-a-day pill that is generally well tolerated by most patients and more effective than earlier drugs.
6. Robin is currently pregnant on the show. What is the protocol for a pregnant woman who is also HIV-positive? Is Robin putting her unborn child at risk?
In the past twenty years, remarkable progress has been made in reducing the risk that HIV-infected mothers like Robin might pass their HIV infection on to their child. HIV-infected women are now given drugs called antiretrovirals to stop HIV from growing and thus reduce the amount of HIV in their blood that the baby could be exposed to in the womb and during birth. After birth, babies are given a course of these same medicines to prevent them from getting infected from exposure to their mother's HIV-infected blood that might have occurred during childbirth. Many HIV-infected women also deliver their baby by cesarean section, which can reduce the baby's exposure to the mother's blood and further reduce risk of passing on the infection. Finally, after birth, babies are fed formula rather than their mother's breast milk; breast milk can contain HIV, and using formula protects the baby from being exposed. Without any of these interventions, about 25%–30% of babies born to HIV-infected mothers will become HIV-infected. Today, as a result of these and other medical interventions, fewer than 2% of babies born to HIV-infected mothers in the United States acquire HIV infection.
For more information, see http://aidsinfo.nih.gov/contentfiles/Perinatal_FS_en.pdf
7. What is the current HIV rate among women Robin's age (late twenties to early thirties)?
Data collected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicate that as of 2005, women 25–44 years old make up 66% of all HIV-infected women and 72% of all women with AIDS, the most advanced stage of HIV infection. Most women in this age group were infected with HIV through sexual contact. By race, the rates of HIV/AIDS for black women are twenty times higher than those for white women (60.2 cases per 100,000 population vs. 3.0 cases per 100,000 population); and the HIV/AIDS rates for Hispanic women (15.8 cases per 100,000 population) are five times higher than those for white women. Regionally, the highest rates of new HIV/AIDS cases among women 25–44 years old are in the southeastern United States and New York (although no data are available for California, Georgia, or New England).
For more information, see
http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/topics/surveillance/resources/slides/general/index.htm
http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/topics/surveillance/resources/slides/women/index.htm
For more information about a new CDC program for perinatal HIV prevention:
One Test. Two Lives. please see
http://www.cdc.gov/Features/1Test2Lives/
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