When searching that news article, I found this.

https://www.herald-dispatch.com/news/in-addic...19723.html

In addiction's wake, HIV now popping up in Appalachia

HIV popping up in clusters in West Virginia, some counties have a large number of active IV drug users, many homeless.

Read the personal story at the end about living with these current HIV drugs.

Quote:

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The antiretrovirals he's taking are brutal, and he's grown resistant to several types of available regimens over time . He compared it to chemotherapy. They make you sick, they can make a man sterile, and all his foods taste like metal.

"The medications are hell, but they have to be because they're killing a virus that's difficult to control ," he said.

But given all that, HIV survivors are given two paths, he continued - give up and die, or get up and keep moving. He's chosen the latter.

"It really depends on how hard you want to live," he said. "And you need to just throw yourself at life."

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