provide appropriate medical care to the presumed victims, carriers of HIV/AIDS. As petitioners point out, the 39 persons included in the petition, given their medical status, "require comprehensive medical services in order to guarantee their survival and physical integrity… what they need, in other words, is appropriate antiretroviral medication and the medical tests necessary to track the progression of their illness."6 15. The petitioners maintain that antiretroviral drugs are capable of blocking the virus’ reproduction in the body and therefore constitute the ideal treatment for preventing the advance of the disease. They also claim that their use helps prevent opportunistic infections as well as other general symptoms of AIDS. 16. The State has an obligation, the petitioners claim, to protect the alleged victims’ right to life. The duty of the State to take positive measures is heightened with regard to protecting the life and health of vulnerable people like those diagnosed with HIV/AIDS. The petitioners allege that inadequate standards of medical care afforded to this vulnerable group constitutes a threat to the integrity of each member of the group. Specifically, the petitioners argue that the absence of appropriate medical care represents an imminent threat to life, as evidenced in the case of Facundo Gómez Reyes, one of the petitioners of the appeal for legal protection (amparo) whose death is directly attributable to the lack of antiretroviral drug therapy which would have prevented the opportunistic disease that killed him. On that precise point, the petitioners indicate a heightened responsibility on the part of the State to take positive steps to protect the life and health of persons at risk, such as those living with HIV/AIDS. 17. Regarding the physical integrity of individuals infected with the AIDS virus, petitioners allege that the inadequate care afforded them and the disregard of their specific needs result in an impairment of their general health. Petitioners likewise stress that many victims of this disease enjoy no support whatever from the State, obtaining their medical treatment through the offices of nongovernmental organizations like Doctors Without Borders. Assistance from that organization, however, will only be available for a limited time. 18. The petitioners call attention to the limited number of persons with access to State-subsidized antiretroviral drug therapy as evidence of the unequal protection extended to persons infected with the virus. 6 Communication provided by the petitioners on August 26, 2003. 6