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Over one million people in the United States live with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Those taking certain medications to treat or prevent the condition are at risk of developing life-altering health issues, including bone and kidney problems. Discover how many people suffer from HIV and may develop HIV drug-related health conditions.
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By filing a dangerous drug lawsuit, you can pursue financial compensation and justice from the companies that caused you or a loved one harm.
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In June 1981, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced the first five known cases of complications from HIV. Today, over a million people in the United States have the condition.
Over the past three decades, medications to treat and prevent HIV have made numerous advances. For example, those diagnosed with HIV in their 20s can now expect to live into their early 70s.
While antiretroviral medications have proved beneficial in managing HIV symptoms and improving the quality of life of those infected by the virus, there still lurks a devastating HIV epidemic across America.
Now, the same drugs used to treat HIV are causing their own detriment.
Tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2001 for the treatment of HIV. This antiretroviral drug is one of the most common medications used for this condition.
Despite its commonness, TDF comes with several health risks, including:
Manufacturers of TDF drugs, namely Gilead Sciences, were aware of these health hazards but continued to make and sell TDF-containing medications anyway, according to recent lawsuits.
This has put numerous innocent people at risk of serious health conditions, many filing personal injury and class-action lawsuits.
Approximately 1.1 million Americans have HIV, and of those people, roughly 15% don’t know they have the virus.
By 2004, there were over 1 million cases of AIDS in the United States and over 500,000 AIDS-related deaths, according to the American Federation of AIDS Research. This greatly outnumbers the number of people with AIDS in 1992 (250,000, with 200,000 deaths).
Around 50,000 Americans contracted HIV in 2016 — of these, 17,528 were black, 10,345 were white, and 9,766 were Latino.
People aged 25 to 29 had the most HIV diagnoses in 2016 (7,964).
According to the CDC, nearly half of the HIV diagnoses in 2016 occurred in just five states: California, Florida, Texas, New York, and Georgia.
Roughly 36.7 million people worldwide have HIV, according to AIDS.gov.
It is estimated that the U.S. will spend over $26 billion on HIV programs (research, housing, treatment, and prevention) every year.
Those living with HIV will spend, on average, $379,668 to treat their condition.
Approximately 225,000 of the 381,580 people taking an HIV prevention medication are in the United States.
The statistics above reveal two things: thousands of people have HIV and thousands take medications to treat or prevent the virus.
This also means that thousands may be at risk of developing HIV drug-related bone and kidney problems.
If you currently use an HIV medication — or have used one in the past — and developed a kidney or bone issue as a result, you deserve high-quality legal help. Seeking legal assistance may help you receive compensation and hold accountable the negligent drug manufacturers who made and sold dangerous medications.
Written by: LawFirm.com
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