- Opinion Article: Professor Joana Boto Fernandes

There are diseases that kill the body. And there are those that numb the memory. HIV infection, in 2025, seems to live in this limbo: undetectable to those who treat it, invisible to those who have already forgotten it.

Forty years after the start of the epidemic, science has won almost every battle – but it may be losing the war for attention. Today, those living with HIV who adhere to treatment have a life expectancy similar to that of the general population. There are simple, effective, and discreet therapies; there are quarterly injectable combinations that free people from the daily ritual of the pill; a semi-annual injectable is now available. And there is the transformative certainty that “undetectable means untransmissible.” A huge achievement.

But success has its downside. The perception that "HIV is now treatable" has trivialized the risk, diminished the fear, and lulled prevention into complacency. Condoms have disappeared from the scene, testing has lost priority, and even among healthcare professionals, the idea of "only testing those who seem at risk" persists. The result: new infections, late diagnoses, and a virus that, although controlled, has not disappeared.

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You can read the full article at CNN Portugal.