Aids

Jenna

Current Issues

May 7th 2008

AIDS

By the early 1980’s it became apparent that an epidemic, of an unknown disease with no cure, was in the making. This disease would soon be known as the fatal epidemic of AIDS. AIDS is the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome that develops from the long exposure to HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus). The 41 gay men first diagnosed with AIDS were soon joined by others. There were 452 cases by the end of 1982. The cases reported had the following breakdown; gender : males (428) & females (24); race/ethnicity : Caucasian "White" Americans (278), African-Americans (86), Hispanics (54), Haitians (27) & Others (7); Age: <25 years old (23), 25-44 years old (362), >45 years old (62) & unknown (5). This shows that aids truly doesn’t discriminate against any one type of person, it affects us all.

The AIDS virus is taking a major toll on countries other than the United States. The extent of the AIDS crisis is only now becoming clear in many African countries, as increasing numbers of people with HIV are becoming ill. In the absence of massively expanded prevention, treatment and care efforts, it is expected that the AIDS death toll in sub-Saharan Africa will continue to rise. This means that impact of the AIDS epidemic on these societies will be felt most strongly in the course of the next ten years and beyond. Millions of People have died because of the disease and more will if anything isn’t done about it.

This transmission route is particularly relevant to intravenous drug users, hemophiliacs and recipients of blood transfusions and blood products. Sharing and reusing syringes contaminated with HIV-infected blood represents a major risk for infection with HIV. Needle sharing is the cause of one third of all new HIV-infections in North America, China, and Eastern Europe. The risk of being infected with HIV from a single prick with a needle that has been used on an HIV-infected person is thought to be about 1 in 150 (see table above). Post-exposure prophylaxis with anti-HIV drugs can further reduce this risk.[46] This route can also affect people who give and receive tattoos and piercings. Universal precautions are frequently not followed in both sub-Saharan Africa and much of Asia because of both a shortage of supplies and inadequate training. The WHO estimates that approximately