These are the first patients since 1995 who represent the failure of therapy. It is beginning to feel like the bad times, when we lost people every week. AIDS deaths plunged nationwide, from more than 50,000 in 1995 to only 16,000 in 1999. Two years later, less than 3 percent of patients were dying. But while doctors hoped these powerful drugs might be able to finally wipe the deadly virus out of the body entirely, they also feared fast-mutating HIV could develop resistance to the drugs, rendering them ineffective.
Experts say that appears to be happening now.
Six of Blake's clients died last month alone. We are seeing and hearing of people getting sick all the time now. It's been a long, long time since anyone has felt this kind of fear. An experimental four-drug regimen is already in the pipeline.