An HIV positive patient, not pictured, receives a blood pressure test in Weishi county, Central China's Henan province in this Nov 30, 2015 file photo. [Photo/Xinhua]

Thursday was the 29th world aids day. Long feared and stigmatized, the disease is less likely to cause as much panic and confusion among people as it used to. However, there is still a long way to go in the fight against the disease. Beijing News commented on Thursday:

HIV/AIDS is caused by a virus that infects cells of the immune system, weakening the system and making the patient more susceptible to infections. Due to the lack of an effective cure as of now, those with HIV/AIDS still live in the fear of death.

But for many who are infected with the virus, the discrimination they face has caused tremendous harm to their dignity and daily lives. There have even been protests against treating those with the virus by some who say it was a "deserved punishment" for those who "did not take relationships seriously".

The good news is such prejudices are much less seen or heard, thanks to the global efforts to promote HIV/AIDS awareness and prevent transmission of the disease over the past decades. It is estimated that the number of newly infected people dropped 35 percent in 2014, in comparison to that in 2000, and the reported death toll has declined 42 percent over the same period.

That has a lot to do with the fact that there are increasingly successful attempts to contain the spread of the virus and treat those who are infected since medical treatment started to involve the combination of three or more anti-viral drugs two decades ago.

In other words, there is plenty of hope that the once-incurable disease will become a controllable chronic one.