HIV/AIDS, Herpes and HPV in South African Youth Essay

In South Africa, AIDS is one of the top causes of death. South Africa has the biggest AIDS/HIV epidemic in the world because of violence against women, poverty, and lack of education. Given this, “Africans account for nearly 70% of those who live with HIV and are dying of AIDS” (Morgenstern, Dr. Michael).

HIV or the Human Deficiency virus is like other viruses including the flu, but the one thing that makes this virus so different than any other is that the body is unable to clear this one out completely. Once someone is infected, there is no cure. Over time, HIV can also hide or mask itself in the body's cells. The cells within a person's body that fight off infection are called CD4 cells or T cells. HIV attacks these cells and copies or replicates itself inside these cells, then destroys them. HIV over time will destroy so many of these cells that the body is unable to fight off infection anymore. When this starts happening, AIDS or Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome happens which is the final stage

HIV has flu-like symptoms. The symptoms include fever, chills, rash, night sweats, sore throat, etc. If a person doesn’t take a medicine called ART (antiretroviral treatment) their immune system will weaken and then they will develop AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome). The symptoms of AIDS are rapid weight loss, extreme and unexplained tiredness, pneumonia, memory loss, depression, etc. Symptoms of HIV can start between a few months and more than ten years. HIV can only be spread through certain bodily fluids. Most of the time it is spread sexually. It can spread by blood, semen, pre-seminal fluid, rectal fluids, vaginal fluids, and breast milk. In the United States HIV is usually spread through anal or vaginal sex without taking medicine to prevent HIV or using a condom. HIV is also spread by sharing needles or syringes. HIV can live in a used needle for up to forty-two days. HIV does not survive long outside the body. It also cannot reproduce once it is outside its host. HIV also cannot be spread by tears, sweat, or saliva as long as it is not mixed with blood. HIV is a biosafety level three agent which meant it

When infected by HIV in the early stages the immune system tries fight against the virus which is the cause of the symptoms sufferers start to experience. Once these symptoms begin to leave your body generally suffers do not experience any other symptoms afterwards. However due to the damage done to the immune system after years of suffering from the disease it is likely to experience weight loss, hot sweats, skin issues and serious illnesses. It is vital that when testing for HIV the 5 C’s are followed which have been placed by the world health organisation which are as

The Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome denotes a spectrum of conditions that are caused by the HIV virus. Infection with this disease does not result in the instant occurrence of the related signs and symptoms. However, an individual is likely to experience flu-like symptoms after he or she is infected with it. Eventually, the person experiences a prolonged period of apparent health with no visible signs. On progression, the infection adversely interferes with the immune system of the individual. The weakening of the body’s defense system increases the risk of recurrence of common infections and opportunistic illnesses that

Despite the government’s best efforts to downplay the HIV epidemic that was beginning in South Africa, the disease began to spread throughout the general population in the late 1980s. In 1988, cases of seroconversion started to appear in individuals outside of the MSM community; each year, between 1988 and 1994, saw a doubling of HIV prevalence. As of 1990, the dominant mode of transmission for HIV switched from homosexual to heterosexual intercourse, creating an epidemic among the citizens of South Africa. At the same time, the rate of mother-to-child transmission was on the rise. Throughout the escalation of the HIV epidemic in South Africa, the apartheid government took a hard line stance on HIV and AIDS, calling it a ‘black disease’ and refusing to invest resources to combat the spate. Rather, it continued to use fear tactics and stereotyping to reinforce the ‘typical’ HIV-infected individual, targeting MSM and black populations in country-wide campaigns. Any attempts at preventing the spread of disease were usually thwarted by a lack of infrastructure in the local governments and provinces, with each area attempting a different strategy to combat HIV infection.

Some people live with it for years before being diagnosed and some experience symptoms within a few weeks. Symptoms are different for everyone but can include the usual flu-like symptoms which are “fever, headaches, tiredness, and enlarged lymph glands,” (HIV Facts, n.d.). These are some of the symptoms I had.

occur more frequently in the teenagers than in older populations, and half of new HIV

HIV occurs in three main stages: acute HIV infection, clinical latency, and AIDS. In the first stage those infected are very contagious, sometimes suffering from flu-like symptoms; however, this often

With such badly compromised immune systems people with AIDS get a growing number of serious sicknesses, they are called opportunistic diseases. With no treatment, the AIDS patients predictably survive about three years. The most usual Symptoms of AIDS are fever, chills, swollen, sweats, lymph glands, weight loss, and weakness. The diagnosis of AIDS is when the CD4 cell counts drops below 200 cells/mm or if they acquire certain opportunistic diseases. Being infected with the HIV can increase the viral load in

Poverty, healthcare access, and risk taking behaviors are all among the answer. One in 4 African-American women lives in poverty, and people living in poverty also get lower-quality health care in general. Exchanging sex for drugs, money, or to meet other needs causes the increase HIV risk factors. For woman living in poverty with low quality health care gives the HIV infection to advance into AIDS more quickly. HIV is mostly spread to women through sexual contact. Untreated STDs that break the skin, like genital herpes, give HIV an access into the bloodstream. 23% of African American women were infected with HIV by injection drug use. Being under the influence of any substance can cause woman to have high risk behaviors such as unprotected sex and sharing of injection drug paraphernalia.

Primary HIV infection is the first stage and only lasts for a few weeks. Flu-like illnesses may be present during this stage. The second stage is known as clinically asymptomatic stage and typically lasts for an average of ten years. Although major symptoms might not exist during this stage, the HIV-positive person may experience swollen glands. Symptomatic HIV infection is the third stage. As the immune system continues to fail, symptoms surface and become miniscule at first then later leading to more prevalent symptoms. This third stage is generally caused by illnesses, involving cancers and infections, which the immune system would normally fight off but is not able to because the immune system is too weak. Finally, AIDS, Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, develops and is the final stage of HIV. A person is diagnosed with AIDS when they show the symptom called an opportunistic infection. This is when infections take advantage of the weakened immune system. HIV leads into life threatening AIDS and causes the infected individual to feel escalating amounts of pain such as neurotic pain, tremendous headaches, gastrointestinal pain, chest pain, and even emotional pain such as depression. This pain can be intense enough to cease the individual from living a productively normal life. HIV and AIDS can strike anyone at any point in their life and should be taken seriously.

HIV goes through several different movements before it leads to AIDs. The first step is the serioconversion illness. This symptoms of this illness is very similar to the flu and an affected individual will

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

South Africa’s labor supply is negatively affected by incidences of HIV/AIDS because of increased mortality and morbidity. AIDS decreases fertility rates and deaths from the disease ultimately lowers the population and labor force. Workers in key sectors of the economy such as mining and healthcare have been particularly affected. One study done by researchers, (R Elias, University of Botswana, personal communication, 2000), estimated that the mining workforce aged between 30 and 44 would see a decrease from 60% to 15% in 2015. South African Healthcare professionals are also heavily impacted, 20% of student nurses are infected with HIV [2]. There is a dearth of data on HIV prevalence in the public domain but a few studies have been done in high risk sectors like transport and mining.