The Human Immunodeficiency Virus ( Aids ) Essay

In the 1980s, a mysterious disease began to take the lives of Americans. With the cause unknown, a fear grew among Americans. An unusually high rate of people was becoming sick with strange and rare diseases. When experimental treatments failed to work, people died. This mysterious disease is what we now know as HIV–Human Immunodeficiency Virus. In the past thirty-five years, the HIV has taken many turns in history. Although we do not hear about HIV and AIDS now, it is still a prevalent issue in the United States and in the world.

Diseases have been affecting the globe for decades. In recent years there have been many infectious diseases have been occurring and spreading across society. Out of the many infectious diseases, there are two that are going to be examined. The two diseases that are going to be analyzed and reviewed are Ebola and AIDS. The two diseases have a high rate of death among people who have been infected. The right rate of death has occurred for decades. Both of these diseases are highly effective at attacking the immune system of the victims. These diseases are both infectious, but are different in several ways. In order to understand how to treat or contain these two diseases, it is informative to be educated on each disease, how it is spread, and what symptoms are prevalent.

Most of us know about H.I.V, but not all of us fully understand all of the aspects of this disease. Not only are there physical aspects, but also physiological aspects.

The early days of the AIDS epidemic drastically contrast AIDS in the present day. In order to get deep insights into the early days of the epidemic, two interviews were conducted. The two individuals interviewed were Scott and Susan. Both were in their 20’s when AIDS first emerged in 1981. Scott’s connection with HIV is extremely personal, as he was infected with the virus in 1987 and continues to remain HIV positive. On the other hand, Susan, is more removed from the situation having not personally experienced it. Scott currently works as a health educator for youth and speaks all around the country about both his story and about sexual education. Susan works in a preschool in Florida and is enjoying her life with both of her children at college. The 1980’s were a period of hiding and fear of HIV, it was not talked about during this time. Both public opinions and public health center’s (hospitals) decisions during this time did not help the growing stigmatization that HIV and AIDS patients already faced. Public education about HIV around the world through speakers like Scott and Florence from Uganda helped alleviate the fear and stigma behind HIV and AIDS to its current state of cultural acceptance and normality.

Did you know that if a straight line of pennies was made down any given road, extending one mile, there would be over a hundred thousand dollars worth of change on the street? Dimes? Well over a million dollars. How about something that hits closer to home, something like lives? In 1996, when the AIDS pandamenic was at its peak, a memorial quilt made of individual panels about six feet by three feet in size was displayed in Washington D.C. Each square of the quilt represented a single victim whose life was claimed by the disease. Though many of the panels give only the victim’s name and birth/death dates, others included more personal items such as a pair of jeans, a teddy bear, or even a poem. Though there

Over the last three decades, the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Acquired Immunodeficiency Disease (AIDS) epidemic has been a public health concern in the United States (US) and globally. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], (2015d) estimates that in the US, over 1.2 million people are living with HIV, of which 12.8% are unaware of their diagnosis. Due to exceptional medical advances in treatment and prevention strategies, a healthier quality of life and longevity can now be achieved with persons diagnosed with HIV (Irvine et al., 2014; CDC 2015a; Sayles, Wong, Kinsler, Martins, & Cunningham, 2009). However, despite the advance from a deathly diagnosis to a chronic disease, the continuum of care in treatment is still threatened.

Epidemiologist: This role involves learning about the pattern and incidence of how the disease is transmitted and works to help find community prevention solutions. The portals of entry for HIV: skin via Injection or trauma, mucous membranes of mouth, penis, vagina and rectum during sexual activity, placenta to child during pregnancy. Portals of exit: blood, semen, pre-ejaculate, vaginal secretions and breast milk. Reservoirs: human blood, semen and vaginal secretions. The mode(s) of transmission: unprotected sex exposing mucous membranes to infected fluids, injection using contaminated needle, infusion from contaminated blood transfusion, accidental prick from contaminated needle, having an open wound come into contact with infected blood; virus passing from mother to baby through placenta, to baby through breast milk, or via interaction with vaginal secretions during birth. However HIV cannot be transmitted through saliva, tears or urine (Merck Manual, 2003).

Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the human immune system, your body’s means of defense. The virus attacks specific viral defense cells, known as CD4+. As the disease spreads and attacks more CD4+ cells, your body no longer maintains its’ ability to fight of infections and diseases which leads to the death of the host. The final stage of HIV is known as AIDS (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome). During this stage of the virus, the host gets infected and sick easily and can no longer fight off infections.

The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) that causes AIDS (auto immunodeficiency syndrome – the final stage of HIV) can be classified as one of the most devastating epidemics in United States history (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2015). Although still an alarming concern in public health, due to prevention strategies and medical advances, the disease is less fatal and is treated as a chronic disease (instead of a death sentence, as in the past). There are currently 1.2 million people living in the US with HIV (CDC, 2015). The highest rates transmitted through sexual intercourse or injection drug use through the exchange of bodily fluids (CDC, 2015). It is estimated that 25% of those living with HIV are women, and only

HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) is a virus that mainly attacks the T-Cell which are used in the immune system to fight off infections. HIV left untreated leads to the disease AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome). When T-Cell accounts are sparse, the body is predisposed to getting infections. (aids.gov) HIV is transmitted parenteral or sexually. (Palmisano, Vella) Around 1 and 4 people living with HIV in the United States are women. In 2014 women made up 19% (8,328) of estimate HIV diagnosis in the United States. (cdc.gov) In the 19% of women infected with HIV, many of whom are mothers, affects the life expectancy of infants during the pregnancy, birth, and gestational period.

The face of the HIV epidemic has changed. People ages 50 and older now represent the fastest growing segment of HIV positive adults in the United States (Sankar et al, 2011). A workshop on HIV Infection and Aging estimated that by 2015, adults aged 50 and older will make up approximately 50% of all HIV/AIDS in the U.S. (Effros et al, 2008). Factors, including decreased efficiency of the immune system and decreased likelihood that older adults have been tested for HIV, increase the vulnerability of older adults to HIV transmission (Hillman & Broderick, 2002; Solomon, 1996).

Something that I have come to learn this semester in Core 7, between the books and lectures, is terrible the disease of AIDS is in Africa. The disease is taking over a million lives a year. The numbers are sickening to look at. The disease has become, undoubtedly, a huge problem in Africa. Is it possible to put a stop to this terrible disease that is killing Africans by the millions?

Human immunodeficiency virus, also referred to as HIV, came to the forefront of disease research in the 1980s as the disease began to spread throughout the world, eventually reaching pandemic status. HIV is a viral disease that targets the body’s immune system, and can potentially lead to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, AIDS. Currently there is no cure for HIV; however, there are treatments available that prolong the lives of the infected individuals and are successful in controlling the disease. Research for HIV is ongoing, and discoveries are still being made about how the disease works and functions once inside the body. In addition to research, advancements in treatment have been made, setting a precedent for more effective

HIV is the human immunodeficiency virus that causes AIDS. A member of a group of viruses called retroviruses, HIV infects human cells and uses the energy and nutrients provided by those cells to grow and reproduce. AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) is a disease in which the body's immune system breaks down and is unable to fight off certain infections, known as "opportunistic infections," and other illnesses that take advantage of a weakened immune system. When a person is infected with HIV, the virus enters the body and lives and multiplies primarily in the white blood cells. These are the immune cells that normally protect us from disease.

HIV, or the Human Immunodeficiency Virus, is a virus which damages and kills cells of the immune system. It attacks the T-cells, key cells of the immune system, and uses them to make copies of itself. After being infected with the virus it progressively interferes and eventually destroys the immune system's ability to fight the anti-genes. HIV may develop into the syndrome AIDS, the Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome. HIV is an STD - a sexually transmitted disease - and therefore most commonly it is spread through sexual contact, and the virus mainly enters the body through the penis, mouth, lining of the vagina or vulva during sexual activity. HIV can also be spread through sharing syringes or needles with someone who is infected with the