2023-06-14 13:00:00
Updated:
dr Stefan Zippel informs students
dr Stefan Zippel came to a lecture on HIV at the Tölz secondary school. He urgently appealed against the stigmatization of infected people.
Bad Tölz – It’s a topic that’s rarely talked about anymore, and one that’s still fraught with prejudice: more than 1.5 million people around the world are infected with HIV every year. In Germany there are a good 2000 people. Between 300 and 400 people die from AIDS every year. In order to educate young people about this disease, an information event was held at the Tölz Realschule on Tuesday. Around 70 students in the 10th grade listened to the lecture by psychologist Dr. Stefan Zippel. He is head of the psychosocial counseling center at the clinic and polyclinic for dermatology and allergology at the Ludwig Maximilian University (LMU) in Munich.
Bad Toelz: Dr. Stefan Zippel gives a lecture on HIV
“HIV damages the immune system,” explains Zippel. If left untreated, an infection can lead to AIDS after five to eight years. “The transmission of the HI virus takes place via bodily fluids such as blood, semen or vaginal fluid.” Most infections occurred through unprotected sexual intercourse through contact with the mucous membranes of the genitals. Therefore, the expert advises the students to use condoms. Recipients of blood donations, on the other hand, need not worry. “In Germany, the samples are also tested for HIV, among other things.”
But what exactly happens when there is an infection in the body? The HI viruses attack the so-called T cells, which coordinate the immune system in the human body. Gradually, the virus continues to multiply – until all T-cells are infected. “In the end, the immune system is so weakened that it is no longer able to fight pathogens.” The result: the body becomes highly susceptible to diseases. “AIDS patients usually have different diseases at the same time,” explains Zippel. For example, pneumonia or cancer.
If you suspect an infection, be sure to get tested
There are now numerous medications to prevent people from contracting AIDS in the first place after an HIV infection. “As a rule, three active ingredients are combined with one another that suppress the multiplication of the virus in the body.” The costs of the therapy are covered by health insurance. “The quicker the treatment takes place, the sooner the immune system remains functional,” says the expert. Even if HIV can be successfully treated today and those affected can lead a normal life, there is still no cure. “The preparations have to be taken for life.”
Therefore his appeal to the students: If you suspect an infection, be sure to get tested. For example, tests are carried out anonymously and free of charge by the health department. But Zippel would also like to draw attention to another problem: the partial stigmatization of HIV patients. “An infected person who is being treated is no longer contagious,” he wants to clarify. “Those who exclude help the spread of HIV.” He therefore calls for solidarity and not to exclude those infected with HIV from society. (Franziska Selter)
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