Charlie Sheen To Make 'Personal Announcement' Regarding HIV Rumors
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Actor Charlie Sheen will address his HIV status during a sit-down interview with Matt Lauer, Entertainment Tonight confirmed Monday.
On Tuesday, Sheen will make a "revealing personal announcement" during a live studio interview on the "Today" show in New York, according to Entertainment Tonight.
Multiple sources reported the former "Two and a Half Men" actor knew about his diagnosis for the past four years following the 50-year-old's decision to do the interview.
The actor has neither confirmed nor denied recent speculation over his health.
Jeff Bailey, Director of Client Services for AIDS Project LA, says that an estimate 60,000 people in LA County are believed to be living with HIV, and that about half of those people are not getting treatment because they either don't know they're infected of they are too ashamed to deal with their illness.
"Treatment is so important because medications today are very, very effective, and when we get to a person who has undetectable viral levels, they're highly unlikely to transmit HIV to an uninfected partner," Bailey said.
Bailey added that, while being HIV positive is no longer a "death sentence", it is still a viral infection that is a chronic disease, with about 1,500 new cases appearing in LA county each year.