In 1981, the first case of HIV/AIDS was introduced in America. At that time, no one knew what was causing the disease. Today’s medical field now knows a lot more in regards to the effects and transmission of HIV/AIDS. More than 33.4 million people worldwide are infected with the HIV virus today. While there is not such a rapid growth as when the virus began, the numbers of affected people are still growing.
HIV stands for Human Immunodeficiency virus. HIV is a virus similar to that of the flu or common cold. The differentiating factor is that with the flu and cold, your body will eventually clear the virus out of your system, but with the HIV virus, the immune system cannot clear it. Getting HIV means you have it for life. The virus immediately begins attacking the cells in your body called T-cells or CD4 cells. These cells are used by the body to fight infections and diseases. When the HIV virus attacks these cells, they duplicate themselves. Most people are not even aware that they are infected with the HIV virus for long periods of time, sometimes even years. The symptoms of HIV often start with flu-like symptoms such as swollen glands, fever, sore throat, rash, fatigue, muscle and joint pain, and headaches. This is called “acute retroviral syndrome;” it is the body’s natural reaction to contracting the HIV virus. The symptoms can last from days to weeks. Many people who are infected with HIV do not even show signs for 10 years or more. The next stage is the “clinical latency” stage. During this stage, people who are infected experience no symptoms. If you do not take medication, this stage can turn into AIDS. Once the virus attacks all of your T-cells or CD4 cells, the infection can lead to AIDS.
AIDS is...
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... More than 25 million people have died worldwide from AIDS since the first cases were reported in 1981. An estimated 15,529 people with an AIDS diagnosis died in 2010 alone.
Prevention of HIV has potential to be very simple. Refraining from sexual activity is the number one form of prevention. Other ways are not sharing needles, using condoms, using a sharps container when it comes to the disposal of needles and sharp objects, testing blood for transfusion, and educating people on the dangers of blood contact.
The HIV/AIDS virus is a very dangerous disease. It can affect any race, color, gender, and age group. Anyone who puts themselves at risk is at risk. Medical advancements and education have helped to prevent the spreading and severity of the virus. Scientists are continually studying and researching in an attempt to find a safe cure for the HIV/AIDS virus.
Although antiretroviral treatment has reduced the toll of AIDS related deaths, access to therapy is not universal, and the prospects of curative treatments and an effective vaccine are uncertain. Thus, AIDS will continue to pose a significant public health threat for decades to come.
As of 2015 there are 36.7 million people living with AIDS globally. In the United States alone 1.2 million people are living with HIV/AIDS. Unknowingly, one in eight people are unaware of their infection. Since the epidemic began in the early 1980s 1,216,917 people have been diagnosed with AIDS in the United States. From 2005 to 2014 the rate of infection has dropped by 19%, diagnoses in women declined 40%, and in African American women, diagnoses declined 42%. Amongst all heterosexuals, diagnoses declined 35%, and among people who use intravenous drugs, diagnoses declined 63%
According to amfAR, the Foundation for AIDS Research, “more than 35 million people live with HIV/AIDS worldwide, 3.3 million of them are under the age of 15. In 2012 an estimated 2.3 million people were newly infected with HIV, 260,000 were under the age of 15. Every day nearly 6,300 people contract HIV - nearly 262 every hour. In 2012, 1.6 million people died from AIDS, 210,000 of them were under the age of 15. Since the beginning of the epidemic, more than 75 million people have contracted HIV and nearly 36 million have died of HIV-related causes”. This disease is transferred from one person to another by blood, semen & pre-seminal fluid, vaginal secretions, breast milk, hypodermic needles and from mother to unborn child through the placenta.
Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is a virus that your body can’t get rid of. This virus sits in your body and attack your immune system and essential virus fighting cells. Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is the final stage of HIV infection. At this point of HIV people have badly damaged immune systems, which put them at risk for other disease and infections.
It is estimated that there are now over 40 million people living with HIV or AIDS worldwide. Most of them do not know they carry HIV and may be spreading the virus to others. Here in the U.S., nearly one million people have HIV infection or AIDS, or roughly one out of every 250 people. At least 40,000 Americans become newly infected with HIV each year, and it is estimated that half of all people with HIV in the U.S. have not been tested and do not know they are carrying the virus. Since the beginning of the epidemic, AIDS has killed more than 30 million people worldwide, including more than 500,000 Americans. AIDS has replaced malaria and tuberculosis as the world's deadliest infectious disease among adults and is the fourth leading cause of death worldwide. Over 13 million children have been orphaned by the epidemic.
Globally, incidence of STIs in 2008 was an estimated 499 million cases; this figure was not much different from the estimated 448 million cases in 2005. Globally in 2011 an estimated 34 million people were living with HIV and 0.8% of adult aged between 15 and 49 years were living with HIV. In 2011 the incidence of HIV was 2.5 million cases and 1.7 million people were died due to AIDS related causes.5, 6
According to the World Health Organization, HIV/AIDS is the leading infectious killer in the world with the death toll estimated around 36 million people (WHO, 2014). HIV stands for human immunodeficiency virus. HIV is very different from other communicable disease because the virus takes over cells in the body and weakens the immune system. It does that by destroying healthy, important cells that fight off disease and infection. The reason your immune system cannot fight this virus is still a question many scientists are seeking to answer, (AIDS, 2014). Scientists know that HIV is capable of being undetected in the cells of our bodies for long periods of time. The HIV virus invades our T cells, which are in charge of cellular immunity, and is able to duplicate itself in these cells and then destroy them. When too many T cells become destroyed the body is unable to fight off this virus, which leads to Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome or AIDS, (AIDS, 2014).
HIV is one of the global public health issues that have taken millions of lives till date. According to the CDC (2016), HIV has taken about 1.2 million people lives globally. The prevalence of HIV infected people is very high. There were approximately 36.9 million people who were living with HIV, with about 2.0 million people are newly infected with HIV in 2014 globally (CDC, 2016).
Infection with HIV does not necessarily mean that a person has AIDS, although people who are HIV-positive are often mistakenly said to have AIDS. In fact, a person can remain HIV-positive for more than ten years without developing any of the clinical illnesses that define and constitute a diagnosis of AIDS. In 1997 an estimated 30.6 million people worldwide were living with HIV or AIDS—29.5 million adults and 1.1 million children. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that between 1981, when the first AIDS cases were reported, and the end of 1997...
HIV, also known as Human Immunodeficiency Virus, is a virus that attacks the body’s immune system. If left untreated, HIV reduces the number of CD4 cells in the body, which makes a person more likely to get infections or infection-related cancers. HIV can also lead to AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome), if it is not being treated (aids.gov). There is no effective cure for HIV, however with proper treatment and medical care, HIV can be controlled. In
Over 33 million people around the world have AIDS (“Global Statistics.”). The disease, caused by the virus HIV, attacks the immune system, which is meant to protect your body from illness. Currently, there is no cure for AIDS, and 25 million have lost their lives due to it. AIDS is a serious issue affecting many people around the world today as they struggle with the disease, research for medicines, and attempt to reduce new infections
Since the discovery of AIDS, there have been steady increases each year in the number of people infected and those that die as a result of their infections. Africa has experienced the most devastating effects of the disease. Approximately 26.6 million people living in Southern Africa are infected with HIV, which is ½ of their entire population. It is estimated that this accounts for approximately 70% of all people infected with AIDS around the world. Eastern Europe and Asia are all experiencing an outbreak with the number of those infected increasing every year. In the United States, AIDS has had dramatic effects on young and middle-aged adults.
The Centers for disease control (CDC) has declared AIDS a global pandemic. No one person or group is safe from contracting this virus; knowledge, and safety is the only way you can protect yourself. However, the first black South African diagnosed with AIDS was in 1987, and currently South Africa is home to over 5.7 million people living with HIV/AIDS, making it the largest population on earth with people infected. (3)
In 1981, a new fatal, infectious disease was diagnosed--AIDS (Acquired Immuno-Deficiency Syndrome). It began in major cities, such as New York, Los Angeles, Miami, and San Francisco. People, mostly homosexual men and intravenous drug users, were dying from very rare lung infections or from a cancer known as Kaposi’s sarcoma. They have not seen people getting these diseases in numerous years. Soon, it also affected hemophiliacs, blood recipients, prostitutes and their customers, and babies born from AIDS-infected women. AIDS was soon recognized as a worldwide health emergency, and as a fatal disease with no known cure, that quickly became an epidemic. When high-profile victims began to contract the virus, such as basketball star Magic Johnson, the feeling spread quickly that anyone, not just particular groups of people, could be at risk. AIDS impairs the human body’s immune system and leaves the victim susceptible to various infections. With new research, scientists think that the disease was first contracted through a certain type of green monkey in Africa, then somehow mutated into a virus that a human could get. AIDS is a complicated illness that may involve several phases. It is caused by a virus that can be passed from person to person. This virus is called HIV, or Human Immuno-deficiency Virus. In order for HIV to become full-blown AIDS, your T-cell count (number of a special type of white-blood cells that fight off diseases) has to drop below 200, or you have to get one of the symptoms of an AIDS-induced infection.
There is more than enough data that shows the extent to which AIDS cripples millions of individuals and households around the globe. Also, there are verified methods we can take to address this pandemic. We, as citizens of the world, need to recognize the severity of this problem and take action. Those in power must better distribute resources so that more is spent on saving the families and lives of AIDS stricken patients.