International Aids Vaccine Initiative ( Iavi )

If you look at how everything has developed since AIDS was first regarded as s major threat to public health in the beginning of the 1980’s it could be said that a lot of progress has been made. Not in a way where infected individuals around the world get the treatment they need or the developing countries get completely the support necessary, but today the world is closer to that goal than years before. This is important to outline because people tend to forget the progress been made, as they are only searching for a certain ending or result. The final solution to the dilemma between distribution of drugs to all people in need and the costly and continuous research required to find a cure, is not in reach [3].

HIV is a life changing virus that cannot be reversed. It can be spread by “semen, vagina fluids, breast milk, or amniotic fluid”. This virus is a vicious virus that harms and fights the body immune system. The immune system is the body’s healing system that fights off diseases. With a weak immune system, one is more likely to become infected with diseases and illnesses. There is treatment to help aid the symptoms of HIV, but unfortunately there is no prevention vaccine for HIV.

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

In 1985, over 10,000 cases of AIDS were reported worldwide (White and Fenner 1986). Just over a decade later, in 1998, the Global AIDS Policy Coalition estimated that 30.6 million people were infected with HIV worldwide. It has also been projected that by the year 2000, between 40 and 70 million adults will be infected with HIV (New Generation Vaccines 1997). Over 90% of all HIV-1 infected individuals live in developing nations: 50% in Southeast Asia and 40% in sub-Saharan Africa. However, even with all of these alarming statistics and projections, there is hope for the future of humanity. This hope is a potential anti-AIDS vaccine. An anti-AIDS vaccine is the best bet. Among other factors, the large costs associated with therapeutic

Consequently, three thousand AIDS cases have been reported in the USA; one thousand have died. At last in 1984, Scientists identify HIV (initially called HTLV-III or LAV) as the cause of AIDS, western scientists become aware that AIDS is widespread in parts of Africa. More than 38,000 cases of AIDS have been reported from 85 countries. The first drug was named “AZT”, which was approved for treating AIDS. Clearly, once the scientist realized that

The most fundamental question to ask about an HIV vaccine is: 'What evidence exists that protection against disease after exposure to HIV is possible?' The best evidence for successful protection against a virulent primate lentivirus such as HIV is that monkeys are almost always protected against challenge with pathogenic SiVmac after vaccination with an attenuated (ne/-deleted) SIVmac

During the course of history there has been many pandemics and epidemics, which have threatened human existence. Various threats such as smallpox, the black plague, measles and influenza can be dated back as early as the 1300’s. Now there is a similar threat, Human Immune deficiency virus (HIV) and Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). The severity of the HIV and AIDS pandemic has affected at least 36.7 million people and at least 1.1 million people have died from AIDS in the United States and beyond. Human immune deficiency virus (HIV) is a disease that causes an attack on the body’s immune system. HIV once classified as an epidemic but as of 2014 it was shifted to a global pandemic due to its effect on the global population. Rates of

According to the Federal HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control Office (FHAPCO 2012:1) occurrence of the Human Immune deficiency Virus (HIV) pandemic is one of the leading public health problems the world has ever realized in current history. In the past thirty years HIV has spread fast and affected entire segments of people: child, young and adult people, men and women, and the rich and the poor.

Overall, the crisis of HIV/AIDS, especially in sub-Saharan Africa is still a major issue. Perhaps the biggest factor is that developed nations have become fairly complacent when considering the disease, as not only has its prevalence dropped significantly in most areas, but treatment through anti-retroviral regimens has managed to increase an infected person’s lifespan to a level almost matching an uninfected person’s average lifespan. Those in sub-Saharan Africa face several key issues with this disease. A lack of education regarding HIV/AIDS and a lack of health care facilities and medication to combat HIV/AIDS are perhaps two of the largest. The country unfortunately faces an upcoming crisis, with the youngest generation’s parents and caregivers becoming too sick or succumbing to the disease before vital education, such as the ability to farm a landscape suffering from desertification, is passed on (Sowing Seeds of Hunger).

Every year, there are more and more people living with HIV. While the number of new cases has decreased, the overall prevalence has increased. In 2014, 36.9 million people were living with HIV. However, in 2001 the number was lower, at 29.8 million [1]. These numbers have caused me to agree with Dr. Not A Scientist need to invest more funds toward developing a HIV vaccine. Although I agree with Dr. Not A Scientist’s position in the Op-ed, there were many scientific errors found that should be addressed.

The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) remains a major public health challenge worldwide (Sepkowitz, 2001). HIV is a microscopic organism that attacks and destroys the immune system (Carter and Hughson, 2014). This has caused 35 million people to be diagnosed with the disease and an estimated 39 million people dying from HIV related causes since the beginning of the epidemic (World Health Organisation (WHO), 2016). The United Kingdom (UK) experienced a five percent rise in HIV diagnosis from 2012-2013 resulting in 107,800 patients being diagnosed with HIV (Public Health England (2014). This figure has led the UK to having one of the fastest growing HIV epidemics in Europe (European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, 2013). HIV still remains incurable with no effective vaccines in place, nonetheless measures have been put in place to curb its transmission (Munier et al, 2011). The introduction of antiretroviral therapy has triggered a decrease in replication of HIV in the infected host (Connor, et al., 1994).

Over the last two decades, HIV has materialized from an unknown virus to a pandemic of prodigious proportions. Social issues increase the risk of HIV infection, thereby creating a counterproductive environment, where combatting the global epidemic effectively is hampered. To date, millions worldwide have succumbed to the virus and currently, over 40 million people are living with HIV.

“The Human Immunodeficiency Virus, most commonly known as HIV, is a lentivirus that spreads through bodily fluids and targets specific in cells of the immune system” (CDC). Over time, HIV deteriorates these cells, and consequently leaves the body unable to fight off infections and disease. When this occurs, the HIV infection transgresses into Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome, also known as AIDS. AIDS continues to obliterate the immune system and leaves its victims more susceptible to opportunistic illnesses which utilize the body’s weakened state and cause more devastating illnesses. “According to the World Health Organization, HIV/AIDS are ranked as the 6th leading causes of death with a staggering 1.5 million deaths since 2012” (WHO). With this issue becoming an international crisis affecting millions, advocacy about HIV and safe sex has drastically increased around the globe due to humanitarian organizations, and increased awareness about the disease.

With the prevalence and spread of communicable diseases on the rise, epidemiologists are working very diligently to find the agent, host, environment, and how it is spread with every new discovery. According to MedicinePlus (2016), “infectious diseases kill more people worldwide than any other single cause”. The human immunodeficiency virus, also known as HIV has been one of the largest epidemics in history. “HIV continues to be a major global health issue, having claimed more than 34 million lives so far. In 2014, 1.2 [980,000-1.6 million] million people died from HIV-related causes globally” (World Health Organization, 2015, n.p.). Having a good understanding of HIV