HIV

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Recommended: Introduction and conclusion in the origins of hiv

Vance Ragbir
Community Health Midterm Essay

Topic : HIV is a major health problem affecting all populations. Explain the ways in which the disease is transmitted and provide strategies for preventing it’s spread, focusing on the different age groups in the population.

The Human Immunodeficiency Virus is responsible for 1.6 million deaths annually according to the World Health Organization (WHO). It is a retrovirus, which infects the body's T-lymphocytes and destroy it, thus rendering the body susceptible to numerous diseases, especially viral diseases. Due to the fact that the body's immune system is compromised, opportunistic diseases begin to occur. In today's society, many persons engage in sexual intercourse with multiple partners and without condoms, therefore placing themselves at increases risk of sexually transmitted diseases such as HIV. Most individuals who are infected with HIV, develop AIDS at some point in time.
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.
HIV cannot survive outside of he human body, except in blood. ...

... middle of paper ...

...st importance to educate the public, not only sexually active persons but also persons who are not yet sexually active. According to an old saying, “prevention is better than cure”. Therefore it is better to educate the masses, from age 13 and up. These young minds are not yet matured and can therefore be molded and certain information can be taught to them about HIV. Nowadays underage children engage in sexual activity and therefore age should have no limit to HIV awareness. There is no current cure for HIV. Once someone is infected, they are infected for life. AIDS not only affects the individual but also everyone around them, something more must be done to save the thousands of lives that are lost annually. If everyone comes together and educate the masses, change will take place.

“AIDS is no longer just a disease, it is a human rights issue” – Nelson Mandela

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