A Interview On Hiv / Aids

Human immunodeficiency virus, also known as HIV, is an infectious disease that causes AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) when left untreated. With AIDS, an individual’s immune system is severely compromised which leads to life-threatening infections, cancer, and eventual death. HIV is primarily transmitted via direct blood contact, breast milk, and sexual contact. With the exception of one highly unique case, HIV is incurable but can be suppressed with highly-active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). When HAART was introduced in 1996, HIV/AIDS related deaths have decreased dramatically, and HAART, when used for prophylactic measures (treatment plan also known as PrEP), has been shown to reduce the risk of HIV infection (Center for Disease Control, 2016).

Human Immunodeficiency Virus is HIV that develops into AIDS, which is Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. This virus starts to break down white blood cells, as a result the immune system starts to deteriorate and our greatest shield cannot fight any longer (Mayo Clinic, 2016). The CDC (2015) states, that over 1.2 million people live with HIV in the United States and most who are infected are oblivious of their disease. Healthy people 2020 has declared HIV a public health crisis in the United States, and continues to sweep the nation with more than 500,000 new cases each year (HealthyPeople2020,2016).

Since its identification approximately two decades ago, HIV has increasingly spread globally, surpassing expectations (1). The number of people living with HIV worldwide is estimated to be 36 million, with 20 million people having died from the disease, giving a total number of 56 million being infected (1). In 2000 alone, 5.3 million people were infected with HIV and there is potential for further spread. HIV infection rates vary all over the world with the highest rates in Sub-Saharan Africa (1). Responding to this epidemic has been a challenge as infection rates have increased worldwide despite tremendous public health efforts by nations (1). The identification of potential interventions to reduce the magnitude of the problem has

HIV/Aids pandemic is high in South Africa as compared to any other country in the world. Recent statistic show that 12% of South Africa’s population lives with the virus and including young children the percentage rises to 18% of the total population. Other neighboring countries such as Botswana also have high prevalence rates and this means that almost all southern African countries rank top among the most infected nations not only in Africa but the world around. In the past few years the number of south Africans being diagnosed of HIV has been rising and even though the infections among adolescents particularly male have been dropping the damage this infection is causing remains substantial both socially and economically. Based on demographic grouping the most infected are females below the age of 40. And of the females infected about 80% are aged between 20-24 years. Infection among males stands below 40% with those aged above 30 years being the most infected. The fact that aids is high in South Africa more than any other country in Africa makes it necessary to understand the reasons behind it. Steinberg (2008) in his book “Sizwe 's test: a young man 's journey through Africa 's AIDS epidemic” fails to understand why many people still die in south Africa despite the emergence of antiretroviral drugs. He however realizes that “stigma” remains the greatest challenge in as far as HIV/AIDS is

In the 1980s, a mysterious disease began to take the lives of Americans. With the cause unknown, a fear grew among Americans. An unusually high rate of people was becoming sick with strange and rare diseases. When experimental treatments failed to work, people died. This mysterious disease is what we now know as HIV–Human Immunodeficiency Virus. In the past thirty-five years, the HIV has taken many turns in history. Although we do not hear about HIV and AIDS now, it is still a prevalent issue in the United States and in the world.

All campaigns, programs or intervention initiatives are dependent on the strength and support of stakeholders. In the absence of such cooperative bonds, the achievement of objectives cannot come to fruition. With that said, “one of the most exciting aspects of AAA is the leadership role prominent national non-profits are taking in reaching their communities with life-saving HIV prevention messages” (CDC, 2013, p. 3). Act Against AIDS achieves such results through their support of the Act Against AIDS Leadership Initiative (AAALI), which is a network inclusive of 19 partners to include Hispanic/Latino, African American, and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) organizations (CDC, 2013). Equally important, in efforts to maximize the reach of the AAA campaign, the CDC recruits, and work in close collaboration with a vast array of public health partners, as well as media outlets who disseminate campaign material and messages. These partnerships are instrumental in subsidizing the work and achievements of the national non-profit organizations who are often the first line of defenses.

Many of our HIV positive members are stigmatized; what’s more, many of them have to deal with denial and fear. Positive Pathways community outreach workers use their life experiences and stories to gain the members’ trust and help to “break down walls.” Our dedicated workers commonly babysit members’ children in the doctor’s office to allow the member to focus on his/her visit. Members are educated on how to take and understand their drug regimens. In fact, they are taught how to read their prescription and labs. Even more, we teach Positive Pathways members how to navigate the healthcare system. Ronette Moton, Community Outreach Worker, says “we will go with them to the doctors and sit in if they

Bradley, et al. (2014) examined the continuum of services among persons living with HIV in the United States during 2011. Data was gathered and examined from the National HIV Surveillance System (NHSS) from the United States regarding improving the care and treatment of individuals diagnosed with HIV from 2011-2013. This data was significant because the finding could ultimately assist the government with reducing new infection and related illnesses and improving the rate of viral load suppression with the assistance of antiretroviral therapy (ART). According to the authors in 2011 in the United States an estimated 1.2 million individuals were living with HIV (Bradley, et al., 2014, p. 1113). Furthermore, the authors also stated

The HIV/AIDS epidemic poses a major concern for global health. There are approximately 36.7 million people living with HIV/AIDS worldwide (WHO, 2017). Due to the increased phenomenon of global migration and movement we see a proportion of individuals who are HIV positive migrating. In Canada alone, over 300,000 new immigrants were welcomed into the country in 2016 (CIC; Globe And Mail, 2016). As a result we can infer that certain proportion out of all immigration applicants into Canada were HIV positive, therefore this paper seeks to question if it is easier or more difficult to be accepted as a immigrant into Canada if you are HIV positive? In addition, under what circumstances are individuals who are HIV positive admissible into Canada,

Case surveillance information gives the premise to our comprehension of the strain of the virus and is utilized to manage public health activity at the government, state, and county levels. Knowing what number of individuals are diagnosed with HIV disease every year and their phase of infection at the time they were diagnosed is essential for the organization and for checking patterns and disparities between groups (CDC, 2018). Case surveillance and other services databases are progressively being utilized for public health safety, which can streamline the wellbeing results of individuals living with HIV (Padilla, 2018). According to the CDC (2018), the center provides funding to all the states and counties to gather data

In the early 1980s, with the discovery of a new infection primarily targeting the gay community, the BESTD Clinic in Milwaukee formed a special project called MAP or Milwaukee AIDS Project to address the crisis. The disease became more of a threat and the community needed more support. A new task force was created by combining the MAP directors, BESTD Clinic President and a few others to form the AIDS Resource Center of Wisconsin. Over time the organization continued to grow and has become Wisconsin’s largest and fastest growing HIV health care system. “Through its integrated medical, dental and mental health clinics along with pharmacy and dedicated social services that include, food pantries, legal programs and social work case management, more than 3,300 HIV patients in Wisconsin gain the health care and social services they need for long term survival with HIV disease.” (ARCW) Some of the material I found in the archives about the ARCW was their 2007-2011 Strategic Plan. It is an outline of how they plan to achieve their vision which is a “world without AIDS and to ensure that everyone with HIV disease will live a long and healthy life”. Within the plan there is six goals and under each goal there are

Did you know that if a straight line of pennies was made down any given road, extending one mile, there would be over a hundred thousand dollars worth of change on the street? Dimes? Well over a million dollars. How about something that hits closer to home, something like lives? In 1996, when the AIDS pandamenic was at its peak, a memorial quilt made of individual panels about six feet by three feet in size was displayed in Washington D.C. Each square of the quilt represented a single victim whose life was claimed by the disease. Though many of the panels give only the victim’s name and birth/death dates, others included more personal items such as a pair of jeans, a teddy bear, or even a poem. Though there

Haiti was able to dramatically reduce its high rates of HIV/AIDS prevalence in the face of low socioeconomic development and declining Gross National Income (GNI) per capita because its existing NGO-based system for HIV/AIDS prevention was scaled up through international technical and financial assistance. The two leading NGOs in this effort, Haitian Group for the Study of Kaposi’s Sarcoma and Opportunistic Infections (GHESKIO) and Partners in Health (PIH), were created at the onset of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the early 1980s, but initially focused their efforts on treating the side-effects of the epidemic due to a lack of access to antiretroviral therapy (ART). HIV/AIDS thus spread rapidly amongst the population, reaching a peak incidence rate of 4% in the 1990s, and it was not until the early 2000s, when the organizations gained access to antiretroviral drugs through international assistance, that HIV/AIDS prevalence rates began their decline.

HIV is the human immunodeficiency virus that causes AIDS. A member of a group of viruses called retroviruses, HIV infects human cells and uses the energy and nutrients provided by those cells to grow and reproduce. AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) is a disease in which the body's immune system breaks down and is unable to fight off certain infections, known as "opportunistic infections," and other illnesses that take advantage of a weakened immune system. When a person is infected with HIV, the virus enters the body and lives and multiplies primarily in the white blood cells. These are the immune cells that normally protect us from disease.

HIV, or the Human Immunodeficiency Virus, is a virus which damages and kills cells of the immune system. It attacks the T-cells, key cells of the immune system, and uses them to make copies of itself. After being infected with the virus it progressively interferes and eventually destroys the immune system's ability to fight the anti-genes. HIV may develop into the syndrome AIDS, the Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome. HIV is an STD - a sexually transmitted disease - and therefore most commonly it is spread through sexual contact, and the virus mainly enters the body through the penis, mouth, lining of the vagina or vulva during sexual activity. HIV can also be spread through sharing syringes or needles with someone who is infected with the