Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) has been scouring the planet for over three decades. It has a powerful ability to deteriorate a human body in a small length of time. This deadly virus attacks the human body’s immune system and can only survive in the human as its host. The virus is only contracted through body fluid exchange, for example, vaginal fluid, semen, intravenous drug users, and sexual intercourse is the most common way of contracting it.
The virus attacks the T cells (type of white blood cell) which are important for our fight against infection and replicates itself using our cells as a moderator for their existence. Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is classified as a syndrome because it is a complex illness with a
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At the end of 2011, the reported new cases of the virus had confirmed diagnoses and give a total figure of around 34 million globally. HIV virus has ascended over the years and is still on the rise causing concern for the welfare of society worldwide, although this is said to be stabilising due to the number of people accessing anti-retroviral treatment worldwide. AIDS (the final stage of HIV) has taken the lives of over 30 million people globally from the outbreak of the first epidemic in the early 1980’s. (Avert.org, 2014 worldwide HIV and AIDS statistics). In 2004, an estimated 42,000 people in the United Kingdom (UK) had accessed medical treatment and care. The figures identified in 2011 proves an increase in the number of diagnosis as the figure doubles at a staggering 81,000 cases. (Nat.org.uk, 2014) This is just in the UK alone which is alarming to the pandemic as the UK has access to a range of exemplary health care and a growing health system with the affordability to fund medical advances. The incidence and prevalence of HIV seems to be precarious in different parts of the globe.
Societal changes influencing the spread of HIV
The speeding advancement of transmission and contraction of HIV is predominantly down to the way our society works. There are many factors which can influence the increase in statistics, but this depends on where in the world the
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.
Since its identification approximately two decades ago, HIV has increasingly spread globally, surpassing expectations (1). The number of people living with HIV worldwide is estimated to be 36 million, with 20 million people having died from the disease, giving a total number of 56 million being infected (1). In 2000 alone, 5.3 million people were infected with HIV and there is potential for further spread. HIV infection rates vary all over the world with the highest rates in Sub-Saharan Africa (1). Responding to this epidemic has been a challenge as infection rates have increased worldwide despite tremendous public health efforts by nations (1). The identification of potential interventions to reduce the magnitude of the problem has
We have been aware of HIV and AIDS since the 1970s (Miller, 2012), and though there have been treatments and reduction in the number of people infected, the disease remains. The disease results in death usually following opportunistic infections as a result of AIDS destruction of the immune system, but thanks to modern medicine “many people
Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/AIDS is a pandemic problem affecting global health. At the end of 2015, 36.7 million people were living with HIV/AIDS globally. The rate of incidence is more prevalent in Sub-Saharan Africa with almost 1 in every 24 adults living with HIV/AIDS. In the united states, HIV/AIDS is a diversified health problem affecting all sexes, ages and races and involving the transmission of multiple risk behavior. However, with the introduction of various prevention programs and antiretroviral drugs, the incidence of HIV/AIDS has reduced.
HIV is a universal and a pandemic disease has claimed 33 million lives globally in the 1980s. It is approximated that 35 million
In 2014, 1.2 million people died from HIV and its related causes. In the same year, about 36.9 million people were living with HIV. Among these, 2 million were newly infected in 2014. The rate of infection has reduced by 35% between the years of 2000 and 2015. Between the same years, mortality due to HIV fell by 24%. The area with the most HIV/AIDS victims is Sub-Saharan Africa. In this region, 25.8 million people were living with HIV in 2014. The region also has 70% of the newly infected victims in the world. It is very unfortunate that more than 50% of people with HIV know that they have it. HIV testing efforts have improved with 150 million in 129 low and middle income counties getting tested. It was reported in 2015 that 15.8 million people were receiving antiretroviral therapy (World Health Organization,
In the past four decades, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) has been discovered, developed into an international epidemic, and
Although HIV is no longer the automatic death sentence it was in the 80’s, it remains a thorn even in our modern societies. For instance, HIV treatment is exponentially expensive, and can only be afforded by residents in developed countries. In fact, most third world nations are still in the 80’s as far as HIV treatment technology is concerned. Fatality rates particularly in Africa are astronomical to say the least (Rensburg 267). With prices, for
Introduction –HIV, Human immune deficiency virus which started in late mid 90s has already devastated many people causing great economic impact on their families, communities and health care systems. In USA the first HIV patient was diagnosed in 1981 after which disease spreads rapidly by which it affects nearly 1.2 million people as of now. As per US centre for disease control and prevention Out of 1.2 million
HIV/AIDs is a huge epidemic still plaguing society today. The lack of knowledge and technical advances has caused an increasing number of cases. It has made its way around the world since the 1940s, causing countries to join together in the fight against AIDs. With all the campaigning that has been done the numbers of cases continue to rise. Countries have separated the disease into three patterns to make it easier to distinguish the effects that AIDs has on different regions of the world. As well as what subtypes sprout from what areas. HIV/AIDs can be spread in many different ways. The future is still uncertain for the victims whom lives have been dramatically changed by this deadly disease.
According to the World Health Organization “An estimated 34 million people were living with HIV at the end of 2010.”
At the end of 2009, an estimated 33.3 million people globally were living with HIV. In that year alone, there were an estimated 1.8 million AIDS-related deaths and 2.6 million new HIV infections. Data from 2009 shows that the AIDS epidemic is beginning to change course as the number of people newly infected with HIV is declining and AIDS –related deaths are decreasing. This is in large part due to more people living longer as access to antiretroviral theraphy increases, but these gains remain fragile and disparities continue to exist among countries and within countries. Sub-Saharan Africa continues to be the region most affected with 69% of all new infections and in seven mostly Eastern European and Central Asian countries, new HIV infection rates have increased by 25%.
The human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV) is the causative agent of the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). AIDS is characterized by a severely compromised immune system and the occurrence of life-threatening opportunistic infections. The first cases of AIDS were documented in 1981 and the isolation of HIV from a patient was described two years later.1,2 Since then, HIV/AIDS has evolved into a global pandemic. According to a report from the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS published in 2016, over 36.7 million people are living with HIV/AIDS worldwide and 1.1 million HIV/AIDS-related deaths as well as 2.1 million new infections occur annually.3 Due to major efforts to raise HIV/AIDS awareness and prevent new infections, the annual number of new infections is slowly decreasing in many regions of the world, including Western and Southern Africa.3 However, infection rates have remained relatively constant in North America in recent years and have increased by over 50% in other regions, such as Eastern Europe and Central Asia.3 Despite major advances in biomedical research, a vaccine or a cure remains elusive.
The disease HIV, also known as human immunodeficiency virus, is a virus that is transmitted through bodily fluids that cause an attack on the body’s immune system and destroys T cells, which help defend the immune system from infectious diseases (CDC, 2015 A). HIV is a prevalent public health issue because it is a preventable disease, but over 1.2 million Americans are living with the disease and the numbers keep increasing yearly (CDC, 2011 A). Also, 1 out of every 5 American living with HIV are unaware that they have the disease (CDC, 2011 B). Studies show that in 2014 there were around 51,000 new cases of HIV diagnosis (CDC, 2011 B) Adult and adolescent males from the ages of 13 and 24 years old make up 81% of all the HIV cases (CDC, 2014). The main targeted groups for HIV are, 1 in 6 gay/bisexual men, 1 in 20 African American men, 1 in 48
HIV is a virus that is spread almost all over the world. Although in some places health care isn’t as developed and therefore it spreads more in those regions. Sub-Saharan Africa holds more than 70%, 25 million, of all HIV positive people in the world. Second highest is Eastern Europe together with Central Asia with 1.3 million. It is spread over most of the world, including Asia and the Pacific, the Caribbean, Central and South America, North Africa and the Middle East and Western and Central Europe (“The Regional Picture”).