Hiv / Aids And Aids

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

HIV stands for human immunodeficiency virus (Avert). It is virus that attacks the immune system, our body’s defense against disease (Avert). Individuals who become infected with HIV will find it harder to fight infections (Avert). HIV is located in semen, blood, vaginal and anal fluids, and breast milk (HIV and Aids). The most common method to become infected is through anal or vaginal sex without a condom (HIV and Aids). Other forms of contraction include using infected needles/ syringes, from mother to child during pregnancy, or breastfeeding (HIV and Aids). If left untreated, AIDS can evolve, this is when a person’s immune system becomes too weak to fight infection and can no longer defend itself (What is AIDS). Despite there not being a cure, an early diagnosis and effective treatment can enable people to live a normal, healthy life (HIV and Aids). This paper will focus on the HIV epidemic. It will compare and contrast HIV in the United States and in Kenya. The paper will review the specific populations affected, testing and counseling centers, funding and economic impact, and prevention programs each country is executing.

HIV is a disease that in becoming a larger a larger topic of conversation in the US. HIV was originally considered an epidemic in the early 1980s. (CDC, 2016). Since the identification of the epidemic, education and preventative measures have significantly dropped statistics, however there is still much progress and awareness of the disease that it needed. Approximately 36.9 million people in the world are currently living with this disease in 2014 and worldwide there is approximately 2 million new cases each year. (AIDS.gov, 2014). To put some perspective on the epidemic in terms of the United States the incident rate is approximately 50,000 new cases and the prevalence rate is 1.2 million. (CDC, 2016). There has been a significant drop in

At present, approximately one million Americans are infected with HIV. The WHO estimates that 33.4 million people have contracted HIV worldwide since the beginning of the epidemic in 1983 and about 2.3 million of these died in the year 1998 alone. In the USA and many other countries, AIDS is now the leading cause of death among young adults.” , & “Each year there are

Thirty-five years on June 5, 1981, what began with five cases of a rare lung infection (Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia) among five otherwise healthy gay men eventually emerged as global health crisis, which in 1982, was formally identified as acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). Another two years would pass before scientists were able to isolate the retrovirus that causes AIDS, which in 1984 was termed human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV). Although a successful discovery, in the absence of a proven treatment, HIV and AIDS had free rein in which to leave in its wake a global path of fear, illness, and death. To understand the totality of HIV/AIDS, consider the following. Since the onset of the pandemic more than 70 million people have been infected with HIV, 35 million people have died of AIDS-related illnesses, and globally, at the end of 2015, an estimated 39.8 people were living with HIV (World Health Organization, 2016). Notwithstanding the global significance of HIV/AIDS, this paper, aside from a historical overview of HIV/AIDS, will focus solely on the continuing public health threat of HIV/AIDS in the United States.

Part 1: Background of Topic: What became later known as aids was detected in West Africa when scientists identified a species of chimpanzees that had a version of this virus in their immune system. They later found out that the disease was transmitted to humans and created into HIV when people hunted these animals for food and came in contact with their infected blood. Decade after decade this illness swooped over Africa like a blanket and began to spread to other countries. The first case of aids was in 1959 when a man’s blood sample was contaminated with HIV. What we didn’t know was how he became infected. “Genetic analysis of this blood sample suggested that HIV-1 may have stemmed from a single virus in the late 1940s or early 1950s.” Cited from The Aids Institute online. Estimated to start since 1930 now every nation has been corrupted with this illness already killing 21.8 million people since the epidemic began. The infection spread so quickly from our inability to know how you are able to get the STD and our unawareness that it existed. It is spread through sex (body fluids), breast feeding, and sharing injected drug equipment, manly needles. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation. “There were 35.0 million people living with HIV in 2013, up from 29.8 million in 2001, the result of continuing new infections, people living longer with HIV, and general population growth.”

33.3 million people are infected or living with HIV, of which 22.5 million are in sub-Saharan Africa. In addition, of the2.5 million children in the world estimated to be living with HIV, 2.3 million are in sub-Saharan Africa. Southern Africa, the most affected region, includes a number of middle- and lower-middle-income nations known as the hyperendemic countries. In South Africa alone, there are about 5.7 million people living with HIV/AIDS. In Swaziland, 42 per cent of women attending antenatal clinics are infected, with similar rates found elsewhere in the region. Many children are affected by the disease in a number of ways: they live with sick parents and relatives in households drained of resources due to the epidemic, and those who have lost parents are less likely to go to school or continue with their education.Studies in the regions of Southern Africa and South-East Asia have found HIV/AIDS to negatively impact both the demand for and supply of education.1,2 Orphaned children are either pulled out of school or not enrolled at all due to the financial constraints of their affected families, and have to assume responsibilities of heading or providing for households. In this respect, girls are more vulnerable. In Kenya, links were found between parental deaths and children 's progress through school. In Tanzania, households that have experienced an adult death have been found to delay the enrolment of younger children in school, but try to keep older children

The African continent represents 12% of the worlds population, but Sub-Saharan Africa disproportionately represents nearly 70% of the worlds HIV cases (1). Within that, it has been estimated that there are 6.1 million people living with HIV/AIDS in South Africa, which is the highest number from any country in the world (2), and represents 17% of the global burden of HIV infection (3).

HIV, or Human Immunodeficiency Virus is a disease that kills the cell of the body’s immune system. It is a STD (sexually transmitted disease) but can also be spread through blood. HIV kills T-cells, a type of white blood cell, which leads to a person not having an immune system. The lack of an immune system means they are no longer able to fight off infections, which causes them to constantly getting sick. HIV is an incurable disease that a person has for life. However, just because someone has HIV and will have it for the rest of their life, does not mean that they are going to get AIDS. AIDS, or Acquired

Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is the virus that causes AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome). Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is an infection that slowly destroys the immune system, which makes it difficult for the body to fight off infections. Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is a

The education barrier trend follows a similar pattern as the lack of accessibility to health in rural areas (Oliver’s Google Map, 2015). Schools are mostly located in urban areas in the same regions where most hospitals are located (Central and Greater Accra). Money spent on this issue of lack of primary schools and colleges in rural areas will help build more schools and colleges where people especially women can be educated. Money will also be spent on implementing HIV education in

Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or AIDS comes from the latest stage of the HIV disease. HIV is the Human Immunodeficiency Virus. HIV is a retrovirus which means it has RNA nucleic acid and genetic material where most have DNA. The virus enters the cells of the body as most do, through endocytosis of white blood cells trying to kill it. When a macrophage ingests a virus, the cell then takes a piece of the virus and presents it on the surface, thus becoming an antigen presenting cell. The antigen presenting cell would then bind to CD4+ cells, also known as helper T cells, who then initiate the humoral or cell-mediated immune response. The humoral response includes the B-cells who release antibodies. The cell-mediated response includes the killer T cells or CD8+ cells. The aspect of the virus that makes it so problematic is the CD4+ cells and how the virus affects them. Cells infected with HIV eventually die and the gradual destruction of the CD4+ cells weaken the immune system functioning because of their job of activating the third line of defense. The number of antibodies in the body would then decrease and with the immune system so reduced, regular microorganisms that normally would not affect the body are now dangerous. These now lethal microorganisms are known as opportunistic infectious organisms. CLASS NOTES

HIV/AIDS Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is a devastating disease, the scope and depth having no boundaries, permeating into many areas of the world, oblivious to social class, lifestyle, or culture. Initially reported in 1981, HIV/ AIDS rapidly spread and by 1987, 100 countries conveyed the presence of HIV/AIDS. (Maurer & Smith, 2009). “By 2001, it was the leading infectious cause of death in the world, killing almost 3 million people, and by 2002, approximately 5 million people were infected with HIV, including 2 million women and 800,000 children younger than 15 years of age” (Maurer & Smith, 2009, p. 121).

AIDS is the final stage of HIV infection in which the body’s immune system is severely weakened. Left untreated, HIV transforms into AIDS and often will be what kills an individual. The HIV/AIDS crisis greatly impacted the homosexual community and drug abusers more so than any other population. Although the disease appeared in 1981 during the first year of Ronald Reagan’s presidency, he did not fully address the crisis until almost the end of his second term in 1987. The only previous mention of the disease was on September 17, 1985, where he said AIDS was a “top priority” (qtd. in Burki). Despite this, come 1986, Reagan proposed “an 11 percent reduction in AIDS spending” (Burki). The AIDS crisis required faster and further intervention from the United States government. Due to President Ronald Reagan’s silence and inaction, thousands of Americans (and people around the globe) became infected with AIDS and died from it. The United States’ government’s reactions to the AIDS crisis were delayed and insufficient, leading to more deaths, more pain, and more stigmatization of the gay community.

About twenty five years ago a new illness caused serious and severe symptoms that affected people all over the world and there seemed to be no treatment or a cure. “HIV has spread relentlessly from a few widely scattered “hot spots” to virtually every country in the world, infecting 65 million people and killing 25 million.” ("AIDS status & challenges of the epidemic", 2015) AIDS was one of the national and international spread of diseases. Regions that were heavily affected were sub-saharan Africa, The Caribbean, Eastern Europe and Central Asia.