Human Immunodeficiency Virus And Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome

HIV has affected people all across the world. HIV comes with physical and mental symptoms. The body symptoms include skin flaking off, being dry, skin peeling off (Saliba 23) , fingernails falling off (32), and weight loss (14). Mentally it is hard to sleep, people become weak, and are tired all the time (23). People all across the world are infected with this disease, and the problem with this is the fact that most do not even know they have it. The most people who are infected each year are African Americans, gays, or bisexuals. 10,315 African Americans were infected in 2015. The U.S.A. has estimated about 1.1 million are infected with the disease. Equally to about 12,333 deaths happened in 2014 from AIDS related diseases, and 6,721 deaths from AIDS directly. Although there are a large amount of people getting infected, on the other hand eighteen percent of the population with HIV is declining since 2008-2014 (“U.S. Statistics”). In the world about 33.2 million people worldwide have HIV, with 22.5 million people in sub Saharan Africa are living with this condition, one out of nine people who live in South America have HIV or AIDS (Saliba 8).

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about 50,000 people are infected with HIV each year. In 2010, the most recent year for which this information is available, there were around 47,500 new HIV infections in the United States (p. 1). The population of people with HIV is diverse due to the fact that it does not discriminate. Men and women of any age,

Nearly three decades ago, there was an increase in deaths of HIV in sub-Saharan Africa. Developing countries have experienced the greatest HIV/AIDS morbidity and mortality, with the highest prevalence rates recorded in young adults in sub-Saharan Africa. In South Africa over three million people are killed by this disease (Macfarlene3). After this epidemic spreaded in Africa and killed people it branched out to other countries in the world.

​African-Americans are the ethnic group most affected by HIV/AIDS. Ironically african-americans represent 14% of the population of the United States , but represent 44% across the gender line. African-american men represent 70% of HIV infections among the ethnic group, however african-american women are also highly at risk of HIV infection. Indeed they have a rate of infection that is 15 times greater than the rate for caucasion women (HIV among African-Americans, 2012). Most African-american women (85%) are infected with HIV through heterosexual sex, often with partners, who claim to be

Experts agree that understanding these statistics can help to make the claim that the HIV virus is a heterogeneous one; significantly affecting certain populations more than others. This is especially true for African Americans (Sorvillo 930). However, mere statistical evidence is not enough to effectively declare this a health inequity. Further research into the virus amongst the population must be explored.

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)

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

African Americans have worst health outcomes of all major racial, ethnic and demographic groups in the U.S. According to Gaston & Alleyne-Green (2013), an estimated 233,624 African Americans died from AIDS-related illness in 2007, yet they are less likely to receive antiretroviral medications, are more likely to report poor adherence to medication regimens, and have a disproportionally higher HIV-related morbidity and mortality rate than their White and Hispanic

HIV infections in African American Males have been a national growing problem since the early 1990’s. According to CDC, in the United States, there are more than 1 million people living with HIV. 48 percent are afro American males between the ages 13-44(CDC, 2007). It is estimated that around 1 million people in the United States will be diagnose with HIV in the up coming year with the lifetime risk of becoming infected is 1 in 16 for black males (CDC,2007).

African Americans make up 12% of the United States population. Yet, as a group, they are 50% living with HIV. They are the number one group that are affected by this life taking disease and the number one cause of death for HIV/AIDS. Blacks have the most severe burden in disparity to other racial or ethnic groups. According to the author, a study in 2006, 45 percent of new HIV infection were found in Blacks. For women, Black women, the

However, AIDS is not a disease; it is a symptom that derives from being infected by a virus called HIV, human immunodeficiency virus. While AIDS and HIV are two different sickness, HIV is the leading cause of AIDS, killing millions. HIV was first discovered in the late 1970s in the United States and AIDS was soon later on termed in 1982 as a term that describes the symptom of HIV (“Where did HIV come from?”). AIDS/HIV existed before, but scientists and doctors never noticed it until 1981 when large lymph nodes emerged and intrigued researchers such as Dr. Mathilde Krim (“Thirty Years of HIV/AIDS”). The disease afflicted many other people before its discovery, but it is only first record in the late 1970s. Soon, the number of AIDS cases and deaths increased drastically, going from 159 to 2,807 cases per year in two years (“Thirty Years of HIV/AIDS”). The term AIDS and HIV are used interchangeably as AIDS is only a name of the symptom that HIV causes. The advancement of technology and understanding of the sickness allowed doctors to understand the cause of AIDS/HIV and uncover more cases each year. With the technology in the world today, testing for AIDS/HIV requires only a blood sample and analysis; there is no confusion on whether the symptoms are of a different disease. However, even though technology advanced greatly over the years, AIDS, like the Plague is incurable during

In the United States, HIV (infection) has changed remarkably over the past 30 years. According to CDC.gov “At the end of 2013, 498,400 African Americans were living with HIV (40% of everyone living with HIV in the US), and 1 in 8 did not know they were infected.” More than 44,000 people were diagnosed with HIV in 2014. HIV is currently a disease of greater demographic diversity, affecting all ages, sexes, race and involves various transmission risk behaviors. At least 50,000 new HIV infections will continue to be added each year, however, one-fifth of persons with new infections may not know they are infected, and a substantial proportion of those who know they are infected are not engaged in HIV care. It is tragic that there are a huge number

The rate of new infections has been relatively stable each year, but 20% of people are unaware they are infected with HIV 3. This greatly increases the risk of HIV transmission with 50% of new HIV cases resulting from those who are unaware of their status 13. At risk populations include Latinos, Blacks, and MSM with 44% of new cases occurring in Blacks and 75% in men 14. With the establishment of the goals for 2020, the White House released a National HIV/AIDS strategy focusing on reducing the number of new cases, increasing access and improving outcomes for HIV positive people, and reducing the disparity in infection 4. The United States healthcare system is based on reactive medicine and the adoption of Cuba’s HIV/AIDS prevention programs would be a necessary step for addressing the epidemic in our

On June 5, 1981 the Center for Disease control and Prevention announced the first warning of a new virus called Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP), otherwise known as Pneumocystis Jirovecii. The PCP virus was first detected in a small group of homosexual males, all in which were located in Los Angeles. Prior to their most recent health evaluations, all of the males were reported as being healthy. However, during their health evaluations the virus PCP was discovered and was common among all of the men because they were immunocompromised. This disease attacked the host through a form of a lung disease which cause inflammation and fluid buildup. The virus Pneumocystis Jirovecii is was renamed in 1982 to what we now know as Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) & Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (Aids). HIV is the precursor to Aids. HIV attacks CD4+ T Cells. T Cells are the white blood cells that assist the body with fighting off cold and infections. A severe loss of those essential CD4+T Cells weaken the body’s immune system resulting in AIDS, which frequently results in death. A person can contract the HIV virus through unprotected sexual intercourse via bodily fluids such as blood, semen, and breast milk. Statistics show that right now 36.9 million people right now are living with HIV/AIDs worldwide, however, most cases are localized in middle and low income countries of Sub-Saharan Africa. The statistics also show that approximately 2.6 million Congenital HIV cases in the

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome usually known as AIDS is a virus that is highly prevalent over all continents. AIDS is known to fail the immune systems which leave people susceptible to disease such as cancer (Health Canada, 2011). This infection has been around for many years, and there is no cure. Many studies and experiments have been conducted to find a solution to the virus, but there has not been any luck in the research for the cure. Activities that place people are a risk of contracting this disease include unprotected sex, sharing needles, and through pregnancy (Health Canada, 2011).