Human Immunodeficiency Virus ( Hiv )

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)

HIV is highly prevalent among the United States population, primarily affecting African Americans of all economic levels and age groups. HIV is transmissible through sexual contact and damages the immune system as it interferes with the individual’s capability to fight off any infections or illnesses. Health inequalities that greatly affect the high rates of HIV include but are not limited to: higher rates of poverty, lack of awareness, intercourse within the same sex, having anxiety towards getting tested for STD’s or HIV, as well as being fearful of “coming out”. Local, state, and nationwide organizations are designed to inform and provide assistance to those who have been diagnosed with HIV/AIDS. S.A.A.F. (Southern Arizona AIDS Foundation)

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 Center for Disease Control and Prevention (2012) states that more than a million people in the United States alone are living with, and dying from Human Immunodeficiency Virus infection or Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS), and almost one in seven people are unaware of their HIV infection status. Over the past decade, the number of people living with HIV has increased, while the annual number of new HIV infections worldwide has remained relatively high. The trend of new infections continues at an increased level particularly among certain population groups and geographical locations with many separate epidemics. Each of these epidemics involves different risk behaviors and practices, such as unprotected sex with multiple partners or sharing intravenous drug equipment (Marcus et.al, 2015). Some countries have made tremendous efforts in expanding and ensuring access to treatment, but have made little to no progress in advancing HIV/AIDS prevention programs, whereas other countries with declining HIV/AIDS prevalence are not making enough and rapid progress to ensure access to, and availability of HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention resources. HIV/AIDS has gradually declined in the amount of media attention it receives, especially in the United States as cancer remains the global number one health issue. HIV/AIDS is still prevalent in the communities and it is important that the general public remain educated and sensitized about the disease process and its

HIV, or human immunodeficiency virus, is a global issue that is classified as a pandemic by the CDC and WHO, however an epidemic is on the rise at an alarming rate in Atlanta, Georgia. This cluster in downtown Atlanta is being contributed to several factors, including poverty, a greater percentage of African-American residents and behaviors that increase the risk of HIV, including unsafe gay sex and injection drug use. Approximately half of newly diagnosed HIV patients in Atlanta have unknowingly progressed to full-blown AIDS, according to testing conducted by Grady Hospital (Archer, 2015). A disquieting amount of those patients, approximately 8%, reside within the same 30303 zip code as the hospital itself (Archer, 2015). According to the CDC more than 1.2 million people in the United States are living with HIV infection, and almost 1 in 8 (12.8%) are unaware of their infection with Atlanta’s HIV positive rate ranking fifth highest in the nation (CDC, HIV in the United States: At A Glance, 2015).While the words HIV and AIDS are still considered taboo with a significant stigma attached, this incurable disease is treatable and with early testing available and prevention combine with transmission education can increase an individual’s overall life expectancy and quality of life.

In the United States (US) there are currently 1.2 million people infected/living with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). The HIV epidemic in the US is concentrated in the following at risk populations and geographic area: (1) Gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with other men of all races/ethnicities (high burden of HIV among Black gay and bisexual men), (2) Black women and men, (3) Latinos/Latinas, (4) People who inject drugs (PWID), (5) Youth ages 13 to 24 years (high burden of HIV among young Black gay and bisexual men), (6) People in the Southern US, (7) Transgender women (high burden of HIV among Black transgender women) (The White

Despite advances in screening and treatment for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) over the last 30 years, HIV remains a significant global issue (World Health Organization [WHO], 2015; Yagoda & Moore, 2016). The United States (US) experienced a brief decline in new HIV cases, but total HIV incidence has failed to decrease meaningfully in the past 25 years (Yagoda &Moore, 2016). According to the US Department of Health and Human Services (USDHHS) (2015), there are approximately 56,000 new cases of HIV per year and that number has been holding steady over the last decade. Current strategies to prevent HIV transmission include antiretroviral treatment (ART) for HIV-infected people, voluntary medical male circumcisions, HIV testing, harm reduction, and behavioral risk reduction (Baeten & Heffron, 2014).

HIV can and will infect anyone who comes into contact with it. There are 1.1 million people in the United States that are infected with HIV but that number is small when looking at it as a global pandemic. Globally, the World Health Organization estimates that there are 35 million living with HIV (who.int). Greater than 2/3 of people infected with HIV live in the Sub-Saharan Africa region (amfar.org). The people in this particular region do not have access to healthcare, clean water or HIV prevention methods such as condoms. Statistics also reveal that black men and women are more at risk for becoming infected with HIV due to poor economic status and under

Getting tested for HIV/AIDs is important for one’s health, relationships, and overall future. HIV stands for Human Immunodeficiency virus; the virus that causes the HIV infection.HIV is spread through the blood, semen, genital fluids, or a HIV infected woman’s breast milk. However, the most common ways to contract HIV is from having unprotected sex, sharing needles and syringes, or same sex intercourse. The growth of new HIV infections continues to rise. According to the Centers of Disease Control (CDC), currently in the United States 1.2 million people are infected with HIV. Among that large group of people, twenty percent of the people were unaware of their status. Consequently, the twenty

Getting tested for HIV/AIDs is important for one’s health, relationships, and overall future. HIV stands for Human Immunodeficiency virus; the virus that causes the HIV infection.HIV is spread through the blood, semen, genital fluids, or a HIV infected woman’s breast milk. However, the most common ways to contract HIV is from having unprotected sex, sharing needles and syringes, or same sex intercourse. The growth of new HIV infections continues to rise. According to the Centers of Disease Control (CDC), currently in the United States 1.2 million people are infected with HIV. Among that large group of people, twenty percent of the people were unaware of their status. Consequently, the twenty

The CDC estimates 1,218,400 people aged 13 and over are living with HIV in the United States. Of this population, 156,300 (12.8%) are not aware of their infection. Over the past decade, the number of people living with HIV has increased, meanwhile the annual number of new HIV infections has remained relatively stable. The pace of new infections continues to be far too high —particularly

Since the beginning of time, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) has been plaguing African American communities at an alarmingly higher rate than any other. The initial stereotype was that only homosexual, Caucasian men had this disease (which also helped contribute to the disease even further because blacks did not think that they had the possibility of contracting HIV). Poverty plays a huge role as well because those are the blacks most affected and since they are financially unable to afford proper, necessary treatment, they fall victim to this disease. Even though they may seem or look fine at one point in time, the virus can clearly take over their body once their CD4 cell count diminishes to less than 200 cells. This weakens the immune system and opportunistic infections now have the chance to invade the body and eventually kill the HIV (now AIDS) infected individual.

HIV disease is a major health issue worldwide with 36.7 million people living with HIV [3]. In 2014, the total number of people living with HIV in the United States is 955,081 and the rate is 299 per 100,000 population. The prevalence of this disease in the United States at the end of 2014, is around 1.1 million people above the age of 13. In 2014, the incidence of HIV infections in the United States were 37,600 [4]. In 2015, the highest number of highest diagnoses is 17,670 cases in the African American race [5]. In the United States, HIV mainly spreads by having sex or by sharing syringes with a person who is already infected with HIV [6].It is important to intervene HIV in

The presence of a virus similar to Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) was first identified in a species of chimpanzee in Africa and researchers believed contact with an infected ape 's blood to be the source of its transmission to humans. According to studies, this transmission may have occurred in the late 1800s. As years passed, the virus gradually swept across Africa and later into other regions throughout the world[1]. HIV, an infectious disease, tends to advance through body fluids such as blood, semen or breast milk[2] and attacks the immune system. As it progresses, it damages immune cells impairing the immune system in protecting against infections and diseases resulting in AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome).

Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is a retro virus that causes AIDs by infecting the T Helper cells of the body’s immune system. The AIDS virus is the final stages of the HIV virus. HIV is a lentivirus genus, which is a subgroup of the retrovirus that causes the AIDS virus. Even with proper treatment, an infected person has a life expectancy of less than ten years.As the virus weakens the human immune systems, this effectleaves the patient compromised and at risk to opportunistic infections that the body would have once had the ability to fight, such as the flu, colds, and pneumonia. HIV attacks the cells in our immune system such as the helper T cells and is directly related to the CD4*T cells, macrophages, and dendritic cells. The HIV infection diminishes the levels of CD4*T cells. When the CD4*T cells drop to a critical low level, the body then becomes progressively more susceptible to opportunistic infections. Two types of HIV have been characterized: HIV-1 and HIV-2. HIV-1 is the virus that was initially discovered and termed both LAV and HTLV-III. It is a more virulent strain, more infective, and is the cause of the majority of HIV infections globally. The lower infectivity of the HIV-2 strain compared to HIV-1 implies that fewer of those exposed to HIV-2 will be infected per exposure. Because of its relatively poor capacity for transmission, HIV-2 is largely confined to West Africa. (Wikipedia, 2014)