

Cuba first to ​eliminate mother-to-baby HIV transmission - wrongc0ntinent
http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/jun/30/cuba-first-eliminate-mother-baby-hiv-transmission

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seliopou
Back in the 1980's there was a group of punk rockers in Cuba called "Los
Frikis" that Radiolab did an episode about[0]. Back then, it was prevalent
amongst this group to inject themselves with HIV virus as a form of protest
against Castro's regime. With 30 years between generations, if any of the Los
Frikis had families, their grandchildren would be born around now. I wonder if
this news and their acts of protest are related.

[0]: [http://www.radiolab.org/story/los-
frikis/](http://www.radiolab.org/story/los-frikis/)

~~~
meric
They injected themselves with HIV to get into the sanatorium where it's a much
better life. It was also a message saying they'd rather die than live in the
world the government created for them outside. Two of them are still alive,
out of around 200, and they're still there, despite the sanatorium being now
abandoned.

[http://www.browardpalmbeach.com/news/los-frikis-
documentary-...](http://www.browardpalmbeach.com/news/los-frikis-documentary-
tells-story-of-cuban-punks-who-got-aids-on-purpose-6926386)

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dredmorbius
If this can be replicated elsewher it's huge.

For Zimbabwe, _40% of infant / childhood deaths are from HIV/AIDS._ The vast
majority of those from mother-to-child transmission. Life expectency in
Zimbabwe and numerous other African nations has decreased by about 20 years
since the 1980s, falling to levels of the 1940s and 1950s.

[http://www.worldlifeexpectancy.com/country-health-
profile/zi...](http://www.worldlifeexpectancy.com/country-health-
profile/zimbabwe)

[http://www.worldlifeexpectancy.com/life-expectancy-
africa](http://www.worldlifeexpectancy.com/life-expectancy-africa)

(Poke around that site a bit, but be warned, it's sobering.)

------
peeters
Maybe it's in the article and I'm missing it, but can anyone cite what the WHO
considers "eliminate" to mean in this context? All I see is that in 2013 two
babies were born with HIV (though seeing as mother-to-baby appears to include
from breastfeeding, I'm not sure that number is the full picture). Does
eliminate mean there was a single year (2014 I guess) with no mother-to-baby
transmission?

The reason I'm curious is because just because this year there are no cases,
doesn't mean there won't be next year. So I wonder what the definition they're
using is.

~~~
wrongc0ntinent
You will find more info in the WHO press release here
[http://who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2015/mtct-hiv-
cuba/...](http://who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2015/mtct-hiv-cuba/en/)
(under "note to editors" some, but there is a separate document mentioned that
specifically addresses requirements)

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ohitsdom
This is pretty great. Only 2 babies born with HIV in Cuba last year, although
the article doesn't say how many were born previous years.

Only data I could find says as of 2011, 6,200 adults had HIV in Cuba.

~~~
cafard
I don't know whether the policy has changed since I read of it many years ago,
but the Cuban government treated HIV infection pretty much the way the US
government once treated leprosy: turn up positive, and you were quarantined.

~~~
pki
Technically, this does work doesn't it?

~~~
matthewmacleod
I suspect not. It seems likely that such a policy would prevent any at-risk
patients voluntarily testing, meaning they remain unaware of their HIV status
and continue to spread the virus.

I'm not sure if there's research on this though - it would be interesting to
see.

~~~
pandaman
If Cuba is anything like the USSR, preventing voluntary testing does not mean
one can remain untested. The government medicine also means you cannot deny
medical procedures that the government has prescribed to you.

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0xCMP
So many Cuba posts/articles these days. I'm still cautious about how this will
actually turn out for the cubans or if we'll get a rosy view of what it's
actually like over there.

~~~
varjag
Probably a mix of genuine moment-driven features with lobbying efforts.

[http://www.paulgraham.com/submarine.html](http://www.paulgraham.com/submarine.html)

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Tepix
Fantastic news, let's hope other countries soon follow their example!

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ctdonath
Another thread on HN had informative posts describing how diseases have been
cured in Cuba by government threatening to kill any doctor who reported an
instance of it.

~~~
netrus
That's a huge claim, and a short Google-voyage did not show any such claim. It
is very counter-intuitive given the overall quality of the Cuban medical
system. Do you have a source for that/ link to the HN discussion?

------
somecrapname
Displacement.

