December 1, 2008 World AIDS Day acknowledges remaining challenges Play video

(Brad Puffer, NECN) – Today is world AIDS day. A day to celebrate the gains made in the fight against HIV, but also to acknowledge the challenges that remain for the 33 million people worldwide living with AIDS.

Emerson Miller has been living with HIV for almost 10 years. And while he is looking and feeling well, he is also reminded of his HIV status everyday.

"It's a battle I mean I take meds twice a day so the first thing when I wake up I take five pills and just before I go to bed I have to take four more pill so those are my reminders"

But Miller is also a part of a population still hit hardest by new cases - gay and bisexual men.

"It's really a tragedy that 25 years later we are still seeing gay men as a prominent population being infected by HIV

Kevin Cranston is with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. The Department's new report shows that more than half of men with HIV got the infection from gay sex. A percentage only going up.

"We are seeing that in every other population, heterosexual, injection drug users, they are less likely to contract HIV but we are seeing a steady state epidemic amongst gay men"

The DPH says there are currently more 17,000 people living in Massachusetts with HIV or AIDS, that's more than at any time in history, in large part because people are living longer with the disease.

"The reality is early in the epidemic people looked very sick when they had HIV or AIDS, they had

signs of the disease because of the success in treating people with anti-retrovirals, people with HIV generally look quite well"

But Emerson Miller says because of those drugs many may have let their guard down. As one living with HIV, he counsels others in support groups for the AIDS Action Committee.

"I think a lot of young people in particular can think they can take one pill a day and all will be well and not understanding all the side effects."

And he says despite how far we've come - there is still a stigma attached to being diagnosed HIV positive, a stigma that may prevent some from getting tested in the first place.

"I don't see that going away and if anything I only see that getting worse."

So the efforts to educate will continue. Because even as the number of new diagnosed cases drops every year - that number is still a long way from zero.