The series TO BE OR NOT TO BE shows photographic close-ups of human sperm.
Sperm is the bodily fluid
which is perceived to transmit the HI-virus most often, second only to blood.
Thanks to medical advances, an HIV-infection is not immediately fatal any more, but according to WHO
and UNAIDS only about one fourth of all HIV-patients worldwide receive adequate medical treatment.
At the same time, the number of new HIV-infections is increasing faster than the number of infected
people
who already receive medical treatment.
When sperm encounters HIV, the genotype stops being something that creates human life and
turns into
something that destroys it.
The HIV-infection results in the breakdown of the immune system and,
if not immediately treated,
leads to the inevitable death of the infected person.
Besides an absence of medical treatment, corruption, poverty and malnourishment play an important role in
shortening the life of these infected people.
The notion TO BE OR NOT TO BE from Shakespeare´s Hamlet is
to be understood in the same context.
Thus, the life expectancy of an HIV-positive person always depends on their particular place of birth
and their living conditions.
(please also read »Positiv & Negativ«)
