Home HIV test

The article I used for this entry is:

http://vitals.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/05/15/11721214-at-home-hiv-test-raises-ethical-questions-bioethicist-says

The author disapproves of home HIV tests and thinks that they are unethical.
Home HIV tests are now readily available in most stores. Some people have questioned whether or not these tests are ethical because if people test positive they are not required to go to counseling from the doctor who tests them. I think the fact that people would not have to go to these counselors is the reason that people would get tested. People who are embarrassed of getting tested, or young people who would not want their parents to know would resort to these home tests. Home tests may be the only way people would get tested, and it is the only way that they would find out if they had HIV. The key argument against these tests is that the person getting tested would not be with a doctor who could tell them about safe sex and what to do about their disease. If someone goes out and buys an HIV test then they must know a little bit about the disease, or at least how it is caught. For further information the test can provide a brief pamphlet on the disease and give a website for further information. Because people would then know general knowledge about the disease they should know to go to their doctors for treatment. Those people who choose not to go to their doctors will at least have the knowledge to practice safe sex to prevent spreading it to other people. Knowing is the only that people would actively try to prevent spreading the disease to other people.
 The benefits vastly out weigh the possible cons. The only drawback is that people may not go to their doctors after testing positive, but these people would not go to their doctors to get tested in the first place.

Avian Flu Research

The article I used for this post is:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/05/120502143852.htm

The author of this article, obviously supports the spread of the information obtained by researchers and further research done one the H5N1 virus.

Viruses spread from animals to humans all the time, but they are not always dangerous. For the past 15 years researchers have been studying a bird flu virus called the H5N1. Not known at the time but this virus could be even more deadly than the H1N1 virus with more than 50% of the people who caught it dying. Though not many people have caught it so far, researchers indicate that only a few more mutations of the virus are needed to make it wide spread among humans. At first people were trying to hide this information, but it was released to the general public in May.

The fact that people tried to hide this from the general public and stop research on it is a huge shock to me. Now that people can see how bad this virus can be if it mutates they can prepare and other scientists can also do research. With other scientists doing research they could find a vaccine, or prevent it from mutating as quickly. Many different groups of scientists working on it definitely beats just one private group. 

This virus is definitely something to watch out for in the coming years.