An inmate whose HIV-positive diagnosis devolved into AIDS died because the medical staff at the California jail where he was housed denied him lifesaving medication even though they had his prescription and were told he needed it to survive, a new federal wrongful death lawsuit alleges
No, I wasn’t assuming that at all. The article says he was on daily antiretrovirals when he was arrested.
My best guess is that he had very poor adherence prior to jail - perhaps extended periods without the daily needs. So he was on meds at that time, but you wouldn’t say he was well managed.
Mostly supposition anyway.
If he was on the dailies, his protection would have tapered off pretty quickly, no? With that happening in the close, unhygienic confines of prison, results were predictable.
I’m not sure the relevance or basis for his adherence prior to jail.
It’s not really relevant. I’m not trying to blame him. Just that someone close to me is on ARV and I had always thought it would take more than 2 months.
My understanding is, it would only take 3 weeks for your viral load to become clinically significant, thereafter it would take at least 6 months for your CD4 to diminish, and other viruses like the flu and herpes to take their toll.
His immune system was failing without the hiv meds, so all infections and diseases picked up while incarcerated was massively more harmful to his body than it would have been otherwise (or to anyone healthy).
Think about how dirty and unhygenic and likely over crowded these detention centres are and how little healthcare is accessible to anyone incarcerated.
There are yeasts and various skin fungi everywhere, lots of prisoners with ‘minor’ respiratory infections which are probably COVID, the food is the lowest quality with very poor production standards and often mould, there’s very likely mould on the walls and bedding in the cells and fecal matter from toilet spray too.
It takes a few years after infection for your immune system to develop AIDS after HIV infection.
ARV prevents AIDS, most people on ARV have an immune system comparable to anyone else. The ARV is not a substitute immune system, it prevents HIV reproducing, which allows your immune system to function normally.
With all that in mind, I had assumed it would take at least 6 months after ARV cessation to die from AIDS related infections, but I may be wrong.
Prolonged extreme stress can wreck your body even if you’re perfectly healthy before experiencing it, and it wrecks you faster and worse if you have any chronic illnesses.
I’m just guessing here but I don’t think he was unstressed and perfectly healthy before going into prison.
That’s pretty much what I said, poor adherence prior to prison.