The spread of HIV/AIDS is different from that of other epidemics that have occurred in human history, owing to the fact that it touches sexual behavior and death, and remains hidden for much of the time. The latency period for HIV to reach full blown AIDS on average is 10 years, and patients need long-term care and support. Mode of spread of the disease is another factor that makes it different from other recent diseases. Globally, an estimated 38.6 (33.4-46.0) million people worldwide were living with HIV in 2005.An estimated 4.1 million became newly infected with HIV, and estimated 2.8 million lost their lives to AIDS (UNAIDS, 2006). HIV/AIDS now causes more deaths than any other infectious diseases, having overtaken malaria and tuberculosis. It is the fourth biggest killer in the world (after heart disease, stroke and respiratory diseases) and has become the single largest cause of death in Africa (Matlin & Spence, 2000). It has become a social catastrophe in Africa, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. HIV/AIDS turns children into orphans, women to widows and weakens the breadwinner. In addition to its appalling human consequences, it weakens societies, destroys productive forces, reduces life expectancy, and demolishes social structures (UNAIDS, 2002). HIV/AIDS is not only a terrifying illness; it is also a major challenge to development.…
The Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and Acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) epidemic is still on the rise. Research shows that the viruses are taking a rising toll on women and girls in the United States. New AIDS cases in women increased from 8% in 1985 to 27% in 2005, and these figures are even greater globally, where women represent half of all adults living with HIV or AIDS (Kaiser Family, 2007).…
The most serious diseases in history are HIV and AIDS. Approximately 20 years ago doctors found the first case of AIDS in the United States. Today, people living with HIV and AIDS have been estimated to be around 42 million people (Teens Health, 2009). There has been a report of people living with HIV or AIDS to be around 300,000 who are not even aware that they have this disease. There are approximately 40,000 new HIV infections each year and continues to remain the same (The Body, 2001). Information about HIV and AIDS is confidential and will remain that way as long as there is HIPAA to enforce the privacy of patient’s medical information (The Law office of Kendra S. Kleber & Associates PLLC, n.d.).…
HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) and AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) are conditions in the human body that cause failure in the immune system leading to life threatening infections and tumors. HIV was first discovered 30 years ago on June 5th, 1981 in a group of young gay men. HIV began to spread through the entire population of people. Since then over 60 million people have been infected with HIV and more than 25 million have died form an AIDS related causes (www.emedicinehealth.com). HIV/AIDS is a big issue, because it’s affecting a large portion of today’s population. Creating a public health plan will help people who have HIV/AIDS, and ones at risk of being infected.…
HIV is a disease that has affected millions of people worldwide. From the wealthy to the poor, this virus has had devastating effects on the lives of families and individuals. According to the AIDS Institute, HIV was first discovered in a patient from West Africa. It is believed that chimpanzees carried the “simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV)” which transferred to humans when they came into contact with the infected animals’ blood after the animal had been caught while hunting. SIV then developed into HIV once in the human blood stream. HIV “has existed in the United States since at least the mid- to late 1970s.” (AI, n.d.) There is no cure for the virus.…
HIV/AIDs is a huge epidemic still plaguing society today. The lack of knowledge and technical advances has caused an increasing number of cases. It has made its way around the world since the 1940s, causing countries to join together in the fight against AIDs. With all the campaigning that has been done the numbers of cases continue to rise. Countries have separated the disease into three patterns to make it easier to distinguish the effects that AIDs has on different regions of the world. As well as what subtypes sprout from what areas. HIV/AIDs can be spread in many different ways. The future is still uncertain for the victims whom lives have been dramatically changed by this deadly disease.…
Throughout the world there are many different issues regarding STI/HIV that is causing premature deaths and a reduction in quality of life. Specifically, there are many diseases that are contracted through intravenous drug use, many of which can be prevented. Blood borne pathogens can be transmitted through intravenous drug use. Intravenous drug use, or IDU, is performed with a needle and syringe through injection, which directly puts drugs into the bloodstream. Drug users often share or use dirty needles, syringes, and other equipment, which greatly increases the chances of contracting various diseases. The use of drugs alone can be very dangerous, but with the addition of shared needles the probability of contracting a disease significantly increases. There are many risks associated with the use of septic needles and syringes, such as; Hepatitis C or B, HIV/AIDS, Tetanus, Cellulitis, Thrombophlebitis, and Necrotizing Fasciitis (Douglas 2007). All of these diseases increase the likelihood of contracting other life threatening diseases. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), “Through 2012, the cumulative total of deaths among people with AIDS attributed to IDU was 186,728 or 28% of the total deaths…
Over the past few decades Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection & Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) prevention strategies has focused on helping high risk individuals including individuals uninfected with HIV. The responsibility of National programs is to inform the public regarding prevention strategies, identify priorities, plan, and implement disease prevention strategies.…
The HIV virus poses one of the biggest viral threats to human society today. It…
HIV/AIDS has taken over almost the entire country of Swaziland’s 1.2 million citizens. Swaziland’s biggest problem continues to be the extremely high death toll due to a disease known as HIV/AIDS. According to Avert.com, “HIV is a virus that can only infect human beings”. This virus weakens your immune system by destroying important cells that fight diseases and continues to reproduce throughout the entire human body, if it goes untreated. AIDS is the final stage of the HIV infection. You retain the disease when your immune system is not working properly, or in other words, when your immune system becomes ‘deficient’. This disease can spread dramatically through contact with an affected person’s body fluids from sharing hypodermic needles associated with drugs. Currently in Swaziland, about three in every one hundred people are infected with HIV and about seven thousand people die each year. More than seventy thousand children have been orphaned throughout the country because they have been diagnosed with HIV/AIDS. The…
Over one million people in the United States are living with HIV/Aids. HIV is a virus that attacks the immune system. HIV can be divided into two categories HIV-1 and HIV-2. The HIV-1 strain is most common. The HIV-2 Strand is mostly found in West Africa, unlike HIV-1 which can be found worldwide. The HIV-1 strand is more pathogenic. HIV if left untreated will develop into AIDS. AIDS is acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. AIDS is the result of a long exposure to HIV. HIV will attack the host cd4 cells. Cd4 cells signal the immune system when they detect foreign substances. HIV will attach to these cd4 cells and reproduce. When this happens the cd4 are destroyed by the HIV virus. A Normal range of cd4 cells is between 500-1500. If this count…
HIV/ADIS epidemic statically by educating a girl. Educated females will know how to treat and prevent HIV/ADIS. According to a study conducted in Uganda, each additional year of education for girls reduces their chances of contracting HIV by 6.7 percent and that the disease spreads twice as fast among uneducated girls.…
Out of this population, a quarter of them do not know that they have it and about 75 percent of 40,000 new infection each year are in males while about 25 percent are in females. In the mid 1990s, the leading cause of death was by AIDS. But as technology grew so did newer treatments which cut the death rate for AIDS by a significant amount. A lot of people do not know they are infected by HIV. A lot of people just think it’s the flu. It can cause some people to get headaches, have sore muscles or joints, stomach aches, fever, swollen lymph glands, skin rashes for up to two weeks. There are even some people who don’t have any…
In the early stages of identifying HIV, it was first believed that only certain individuals were able to become infected. This group was known as the 4-H group: homosexuals, hemophiliacs, heroin addicts and Haitians. The stigma of HIV was that it infected people with promiscuous or unclean ways. Jerry Falwell, a televangelist, fundamentalist Southern Baptist pastor and conservative cofounder of the Moral Majority, became a known voice in the oppression of those with HIV disease. One of his famous quotes was, "AIDS is not just God's punishment for homosexuals, it is God's punishment for the society that tolerates homosexuals." The hate he preached, along with the rest of the Moral Majority and the Religious Right, started to seep into American culture and turn otherwise normal and resonable people into hate mongers with their own prejudices against those with HIV disease. Although former President Ronald Reagan was notoriously quiet about the AIDS epidemic during his presidency, his right-wing advisors were able to make their views on HIV disease known far and wide. This ignorance would cause ordinary Americans to turn on Ryan White and the Ray brothers - innocent young victims of HIV.…
AIDS is caused by the human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV. By killing or damaging cells of the body's immune system, HIV progressively destroys the body's ability to fight infections and certain cancers. People diagnosed with AIDS may get life-threatening diseases called opportunistic infections. These infections are caused by microbes such as viruses or bacteria that usually do not make healthy people sick It is a major epidemic worldwide and Philippines is no exception. Since the first cases of HIV/AIDS were reported in 1984 in Philippines, 1,515 HIV infections, including 508 AIDS cases and 196 HIV/AIDS related deaths, had been reported by June 2001. According to youandaids.org, the epidemic in the Philippines has been classified as low level. As of January 2004, the National Epidemiology Center of the Department of Health recorded 1979 cases of people with HIV/AIDS of which 1343 (68%) were asymptomatic and 636 (32%) were AIDS cases at the time of the report. Of the total AIDS cases, 257 (40%) were already dead due to AIDS-related complications. Yet this is one of the lowest infection rates in the world, this in a country that has one of the lowest rates of condom usage in Asia. This in a country that has anywhere from half a million to 2 million sex workers, a good majority of whom don't require their customers to wear condoms. This in a nation that has more than 7 million overseas workers, separated from spouses and often engaging in risky sexual behavior. This in a country that, as of the moment, has practically no awareness program to teach the exploding population of young people about the dangers of HIV/AIDS. HIV infection is found in all regions of the country, although it appears to be concentrated in the urban areas of Luzon, Mindanao, and Visayas Islands. Sexual intercourse remains the predominant mode of transmission, accounting for up to 86 percent of all infections. Of the total HIV and AIDS cases, 1145 were men (62 per cent.) The…