AIDS 101 Essay

The term Human Immunodeficiency Virus is commonly known as (HIV), which is a virus that attacks the immune system of humans by destroying the amount of CD4 cells in their bodies. Without CD4 the human body is unable to fight against diseases, which can lead to Acquired Immune deficiency syndrome known as AIDS for short. The first case of the HIV/AIDS virus in the U.S. occurred in the early 1980’s. The first spark of the virus was found in San Francisco with couple of homosexual Caucasian American males. Today African Americans account for the largest proportion of HIV and AIDS in this country, represent approximately 13% of the U.S. population, but accounted for an estimated 44% of new HIV infections in 2010(the last year a study was

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).

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

According to recent statistics from the Centers for Disease Control, approximately 1.2 million individuals in the United States have HIV (about 14 percent of which are unaware of their infection and another 1.1 million have progressed to AIDS. Over the past decade, the number of HIV cases in the US has increased, however, the annual number of cases remains stable at about 50, 000 new cases per year. Within these estimates, certain groups tend to carry the burden of these disease, particularly the gay, bisexual, and men who have sex with men (MSM) and among race/ethnic groups, Blacks/African American males remain disproportionately affected. (CDC)

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.

HIV and AIDS have affected millions of people throughout the world. Since 1981, there have been 25 million deaths due to AIDS involving men, women, and children. Presently there are 40 million people living with HIV and AIDS around the world and two million die each year from AIDS related illnesses. The Center for Disease Control estimates that one-third of the one million Americans living with HIV are not aware that they have it. The earliest known case of HIV was in 1959. It was discovered in a blood sample from a man in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Looking further into the genetics of this blood sample researchers suggested that it had originated from a virus going back to the late 1940’s or early 1950’s. In 1999,

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

The case of Doctor David Acer and his HIV infected patients reads as a question of ethical and legal dilemmas as well as a murder mystery. According to authorities, Dr. Acer either knowingly or unknowingly infected five of his patients with the strain of the AIDS virus he himself was infected with (Altman, 1993). Whether or not Dr. Acer was guilty of intentionally infecting his patients is not able to be answered beyond any reasonable doubt, however the ethical questions it presents merit discussion.

Sexual crimes, rape, and prostitution are the contributors who can easily transmit this deadly disease, as HIV/AIDS is a sexually transmitted disease. U.N. agency reports that one in five deaths among women between the ages of 15 and 44 is linked to unsafe sex (3). In many male-dominated societies, women are

1932 in Tuskegee, Alabama the Public Health Service treated African American men with the sexually transmitted virus syphilis. From a CDC article it says “Researcher told the men they were being treated for bad blood,” a local term used to describe several ailments, including syphilis, anemia and fatigue. “The project went on longer than planned expected it lasted for 40 years it was only planned for 6 months. The men did not have proper treatment so that they could be cured. People say that they did they gave the men syphilis to kill off the African American male race.

HIV-1’s ability to mutate rapidly has hindered researchers to finding an effective vaccine. The characteristics of bNAbs show that it can target the surface of the virus to reduce the chance of an infection. A recent finding of calves being able to produce antibodies similar to bNAbs when exposed to the virus has provided a glimpse of hope, however further trials will still need to be carried out to initiate the same response in humans. Nonetheless, government funding has helped researchers to find a cure against HIV-1 by incorporating bNAbs into a vaccine.

In the 1980s, the incidence of acquired immunodeficiency (AIDS) cases caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) rose to epidemic proportions in the US LGBT community predominantly due to their manifestation as Kaposi’s Sarcoma (KS), a viral mediated cancer (Haverkos & Curran, 1982). A major outcome out of the research on HIV-AIDS is the finding that the virus caused massive systemic immune suppression in the infected individuals, which in turn caused the patients to succumb to either opportunistic infections such as KS (Haverkos & Curran, 1982). However, HIV-induced KS also highlighted the dominant role of the human immune system to seek and destroy any cancer that could have been formed otherwise. It also implicated that there

Since the beginning of the epidemic, AIDS has killed more than 30 million people worldwide, including more than 500,000 Americans. AIDS has replaced malaria and tuberculosis as the world's deadliest infectious disease among adults and is the fourth leading cause of death worldwide. Over 13 million children have been orphaned by the epidemic. A person who is HIV-infected carries the virus in certain body fluids, including blood, semen, vaginal secretions, and breast milk. The virus can be transmitted only if such HIV-infected fluids enter the bloodstream of another person. This kind of direct entry can occur (1) through the linings of the vagina, rectum, mouth, and the opening at the tip of the penis; (2) through intravenous injection with a syringe; or (3) through a break in the skin, such as a cut or sore. Usually, HIV is transmitted through:

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

It’s advisable for people to practice safe sex. This will lead to prevention of the exchange of body and virginal fluids and this increases chances of getting infections. Research has it that oral sex is much less risky than anal or vaginal sex (Balmer, 1993). Anal sex is the most risky type of sex for the spread of HIV