I am positive; the simplest statement suddenly carries a huge weight when the words HIV or AIDS are followed right after. In the 1980’s HIV meant AIDS and AIDS meant a rapid and awful death. Death always seemed to be the end result in a world where we did not understand the disease that seemed to come from nowhere but was killing at an expedited rate. Thirty plus years later there is still no cure but there is now hope. Having HIV or AIDS is no longer an immediate death sentence. People infected with the virus can live a long and relatively normal life (2).
On November 7th, 1991, NBA star Ervin “Magic” Johnson announced that he tested positive for HIV and was retiring from basketball (7). Twenty plus years later Mr. Johnson is living
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There is no cure for HIV; some HIV positive people viral loads can be down due to a combination of medicines and a healthy diet. Or seropositive people could have some sort of a mutation. One example is where they over produce T helper cells (8).
The term AIDS applies to the most advanced stages of the HIV infection; Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and the disease it causes, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Acquired means you can get infected; Immune Deficiency means a weakness in the body’s system that fights diseases. Syndrome means a group of health problems that make up a disease (1). Killing or damaging T helper cells of the body’s immune system, HIV progressively destroys the body’s ability to fight infections (1).
HIV is found in specific human body fluids. If any of those fluids enter your body, you can become infected with HIV. Common ways HIV is spread is by having unprotected sex with an infected partner. The virus can enter the body through the lining of the vagina, vulva, penis, rectum, or mouth during sex. Also, HIV commonly is spread within injection drug users by the sharing of needles or syringes contaminated with very small quantities of blood from someone infected with the virus. Women can pass on the virus to their babies during pregnancy or birth. HIV can also be spread to babies through the breast milk of mothers infected with the virus. Having a sexually transmitted disease such as Syphilis, Genital Herpes, Chlamydia, or
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
According to the CDC, about 18 % of those infected with HIV in the United States are unaware of their infection. An estimate of 1,000 young people ages 13 to 24 are newly infected with HIV each month. HIV is transmitted through bodily fluids such as semen, blood, breast milk, and vaginal fluids. These fluids can come in contact between people in a variety of ways, including having unprotected sex (oral, vaginal, or anal); HIV can also be passed from mother to child during childbirth. Mother to child transmission is now rare in the US and other developed countries because pregnant women who are HIV-positive are normally given medications to prevent the fetus from getting infected. However, it is possible for an HIV-infected mother to
AIDS or acquired immune deficiency syndrome is a disease where a person regardless of race or gender can get infected and have no chance of survival. AIDS started in the 1980’s to move from human to human. In a event were sex kills this is the one. In 1995, AIDS was the leading cause of death for adults 25 to 44 years old. But in recent years treatments help the survival and prolonged life of many with AIDS yet the disease still resides within them and they are dangerous to the well being of
According to a report published in the February 1998 edition of “Nature”, scientists identified what they believe is the earliest case of AIDs in a man from the Congo in 1959. (Lerner and Hombs 39) By the end of the year 1980, 80 men would have been diagnosed with at least of the opportunistic infections that are a characteristic of AIDs. (Lerner and Hombs 40) AIDs cases in the 1980s increased dramatically not only around the world but in the United States, primarily in larger cities like Los Angeles, New York City and San Francisco. The numbers of AIDs diagnoses and deaths spiraled out of control throughout the 1980s and towards the end of 1989 there were 117,500 cases of AIDS reported and 89,000 related deaths.(Lerner and Hombs 54) In the
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.
There is some good news in the fight against HIV. Between 2005 and 2014 new diagnosis of HIV have fallen by 19% nationwide (CDC, 2017). Those living with HIV are now living longer, healthier lives and have the opportunity to
Claudia: Let’s see here, I have that information from another brochure the health clinic gave me. It says “HIV is transmitted through infected blood fluids – namely blood, semen, vaginal secretion and breastmilk,” (HIV Facts, n.d.). The brochures also say HIV is transmitted through needles shared with people who are infected, by sexual contact (vaginal, anal and oral) and through blood that has been infected with the virus (HIV Facts, n.d.) (HIV/AIDS, 2016).
Human immunodeficiency Virus also known as HIV is a sexually transmitted disease. It attacks your body's immune system. The virus destroys CD4 cells, which help your body fight diseases. HIV damages your immune system and it leads to acquired immune deficiency syndrome also known as AIDS. AIDS is the final stage in HIV, and it’s a disease where severe loss of the body's cellular immunity occurs. The disease lowers the resistance to infection and malignancy. Anyone can get HIV/AIDS. Men, women, and children, of all different races and descents can get infected with the virus. People who are gay or straight can also be infected with HIV/AIDS. There is currently no cure for HIV/AIDS. HIV treatments may reduce
HIV is most commonly spread through having unprotected sex with someone who has HIV. Sharing needles or syringes with someone who has HIV when injecting heroin is also a way to spread HIV. HIV can be transmitted through certain bodily fluids like: blood, semen, pre-seminal fluid, and vaginal and rectal fluids.
HIV which stands for human immunodeficiency virus is a virus that attacks the human infection fighting CD4 cells of the immune system. AIDS which stands for acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, is the most advanced stage of the HIV infection. If HIV is left untreated it leads up to AIDS, and that is when the immune system is too weak to fight off infections or even certain cancers. HIV is spread through certain body fluids such as blood, semen, pre-seminal fluid, vaginal fluids, rectal fluids, and breast milk. In the United States HIV is commonly spread by having sex with someone who is infected or by sharing drug injection needles. HIV is not airborne so you cannot get infected by a simple
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,
People can contract HIV through several sources. First, people who need blood transfusions can become infected. For example, “… in some cases, the virus may be transmitted through blood transfusions.” (NHP CC DC) Second, people who share infected needles can become infected. For example, “… HIV can be transmitted through needles syringes contaminated with infected blood.” (NHP CC DC) Third, another way people can become
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 is global pandemic stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus, weakens the immune system by destroying the important cells in our body that fights against disease and infection. Our immune system is able to clear out most of the viruses from our body, but once you have HIV , you have it for lifelong. HIV can hide in our body cells for long time and it can attack the T cells and CD4 cells, a key part of our immune system to fight infections and diseases. Overtime, the HIV may attack so many of CD4 cells and our body is no more able to fight against infections. When this happens, HIV can lead to AIDS, the final stage of HIV infection. HIV can be transmitted through sexual contact, injection or drug use, pregnancy, breast feeding, occupational exposure, and rarely through blood transfusion and organ
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