Bohemian Rhapsody is the film about the story of Queen that earned Rami Malek the Oscar for best actor for his portrayal of Freddie Mercury. After watching it, we interviewed an infectious disease specialist who explained to us how much treatments for Aids have improved.
"I wish I had been there, among the crowd." That is the thought that springs to mind as the final images of Bohemian Rhapsody roll across the screen — the film that tells the story of the Queen. It ends with a tribute to Live Aid, the charity concert featuring the greatest bands of the 1980s, considered by many to be the greatest of all time. 72,000 people were lucky enough to attend in London, and another 100,000 in Philadelphia. It was 13 July 1985. And Freddie Mercury gave everything he had on stage.
Then again, that was what he wanted most. At every concert he "made love" to the audience, craving with every fibre of his being to satisfy his fans. He wanted to become a legend, and he knew he would. He was certain that his light would not have shone the same without Brian May, Roger Taylor and John Deacon, but for a time he felt the need to shine alone. With them he performed until the very end, experimenting as perhaps no one had ever dared before, giving audiences entirely innovative songs and performances that managed to be both spontaneous and perfect at the same time. Much like him — theatrical and unforgettable — on stage he forgot every insecurity. And Rami Malek, the actor who portrayed him in the film Bohemian Rhapsody, succeeded in immersing himself so completely in the role that he deserved the 2019 Oscar for best actor.
Bohemian Rhapsody had its world premiere on 23 October at Wembley Arena, in London, opposite the Wembley Stadium where Live Aid was held. The box-office proceeds were donated to the Mercury Phoenix Trust, the organisation founded by Brian May, Roger Taylor and their manager Jim Beach to fight Aids — which in 1991 led to the frontman's death. The film was released in Italian cinemas on 29 November, shortly before World Aids Day on 1 December. We took the opportunity to interview Dr Diego Ripamonti, who works in the infectious diseases unit at the hospital in Bergamo — ASST Papa Giovanni XXIII — and cares for HIV-positive patients every day.
"The virus is certainly still extremely widespread around the world and millions of people are affected by it; many do not know they are. In Italy, there are approximately 120,000 patients — it is only an estimate, of course — and around four thousand people discover they are HIV-positive every year," explains Ripamonti. "However, what was once an almost invariably fatal disease has long since become a chronic condition. There are excellent drugs available, thanks to which life expectancy is similar to that of the healthy population.
Over the years, pharmacological progress has been truly remarkable: whereas in 1996 the number of tablets a patient had to take each day was more than ten, today it is possible, in most cases, to take just one or two tablets a day and lead a completely normal life." There is also a strategy known as PrEP, which uses a drug that greatly reduces — but does not eliminate — the risk of HIV infection, though it is unable to prevent other sexually transmitted diseases (such as syphilis or gonorrhoea).
What is truly important to remember, however, is that if a patient takes their therapy correctly, their infectiousness becomes virtually zero. Moreover, "if a woman with HIV infection takes therapy during pregnancy, the baby will almost certainly be healthy," the infectious disease specialist assures. This is why testing is fundamental: "You should not wait until you fall ill to get tested. It should be treated as a preventive check-up, on a par with a smear test, mammogram or colonoscopy." What is more, there is absolutely no need to discuss it with your own doctor: you can buy the test at a pharmacy and do it at home — it is highly reliable — or take it anonymously and free of charge at a sexually transmitted diseases centre.
"The vaccine, which is not yet available, is the real solution for those who have not been infected," concludes Ripamonti. "Research is always ongoing." There is no giving up, then; instead, the aim is to build on the many improvements that have already been made in treating a disease that to this day we have not managed to defeat.
We are the champions, my friends and we'll keep on fighting till the endFreddie Mercury
