The Effect Of Hiv And Aids

The Effect of HIV and AIDS

On a cool day in November 2002, Angie was on her way to meet Shelly for a special dinner. Shelly had insisted that the dinner had to be tonight and that the news could not wait. All Angie could think about was that Shelly, her best friend, was pregnant. Shelly had not been married for very long but Angie knew it was coming. She was a little excited about a baby coming into the picture. Angie always knew Shelly would make a wonderful mother. As soon as Angie walked in the door of the restaurant she saw Shelly sitting in a corner booth. The two talked briefly about their day at work and soon Angie could not wait any longer. She asked Shelly what was so important that they had to meet today. Shelly looked down and started to cry. Shelly sobs, "Angie, I have been diagnosed with HIV and I have about ten years to live." Angie was in shock. She could not say a word. She just sat there and sobbed along with Shelly.

That is how I found out my best friend was diagnosed with HIV. You really do not think that this tradgedy will ever happen to you or anyone you love until it really hits home. That was one of the most horrific days of my life. The numbness just sweeps over you and you really do not have much to say. As Shelly states, "A feeling of worthlessness just takes over your body and you never know how to tell your loved ones that you are dying because you decided to share needles while doing drugs." I could not imagine what she was going through in telling me about this horrible disease.

AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome), first identified in this county in 1981 among homosexual men and intravenous drug users, is characterized by severe weight loss, night sweats, and swollen lymph nodes. Increasingly frequent infections occur including pneumonia and other illnesses. AIDS is caused by a virus transmitted in body secretions - especially blood, semen, and vaginal secretions. The virus commonly enters the body via blood transfusions or blood-contaminated needles and during intimate sexual contact. The virus is also present in saliva and tears in very small amounts, and there are documented cases of transmission by oral sex.

The virus, called HIV (human immunodeficiency virus), destroys helper T cells (a large cell in your immune system), thus depressing cell-mediated immunity. In time a profound deficit of antibodies develops and the immune system becomes nonresponsive to viral cues. The whole immune system is turned topsy-turvy. The virus multiplies steadily in the lymph nodes throughout most of the chronic asymptomatic period. Symptomatic AIDS gradually appears a few months to ten or more years later when the lymph nodes are destroyed and can no longer contain the virus. The virus also invades the brain, which accounts for the dementia of some AIDS patients.

The years since 1981 we have witnessed a global AIDS epidemic, worldwide, 16,000 people are infected with the HIV virus every day. Currently more that 30 million people are infected worldwide, and almost 90% of them live in the developing countries of Aisa and sub-Saharan Africa. By mid-1996, estimates of the number of Americans infected with HIV topped one million. Although anti-HIV antibodies may appear in the blood as early as two weeks after infection, there is a six month "window" after infection during which antibodies can develop. So for every diagnosed case, there are probably many more carriers of the virus. Not only has the number of identified cases in the United States jumped exponentially in the at risk populations,