Free Essays on Aids

D. Smith Biology 1 Reviews AIDS Epidemic Still Alive Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is human viral disease that destroys the immune system and the body’s ability to defend itself from infection and disease. AIDS is caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), AIDS leaves an infected person vulnerable to infections. Such infections are harmless in healthy people, but in those whose immune systems have been greatly weakened, they can prove fatal. Although there is no cure for AIDS, new drugs are available that can prolong the life spans and improve the quality of life of infected people. Some people who have HIV infection may not develop any of the clinical illnesses that define the full-blown disease of AIDS for ten years or more. Physicians prefer to use the term AIDS for cases where a person has reached the final, life-threatening stage of HIV infection. In the United States about 40,000 new HIV infections occur each year. More than 30 percent of these infections occur in women, and 60 percent occur in ethnic minorities. In 2000 about 800,000 to 900,000 U.S. residents were infected with HIV, and about 300,000 people were living with full-blown AIDS. In South Africa AIDS is the Leading killer among women and is killing more people every year. Aids related illnesses are responsible for 9.8 percent of female deaths in South Africa in 2001, up from 5.6 percent in 1997 according to a survey by Statistics South Africa. The survey also showed AIDS-related deaths among the all South Africans rose from 4.6 percent in 1997 to 8.7 percent in 2001. It is estimated that 4.7 million South Africans or 11 percent of the population are infected with the AIDS virus.... Free Essays on Aids Free Essays on Aids AIDS after 1985 was an astonishing deadly risk for sexually active people as a whole. The days of promiscuity and one-night stands were being re-thought due to the possible contraction of this new disease called AIDS. A fear of sex was brought upon the people and â€Å"as the AIDS threat [grew], the mating call [was] no longer ‘free-love,’ but ‘safety first’ (Kantrowitz 40).† AIDS had been thought of as â€Å"gay† disease or a disease of intravenous drug users, but as the epidemic grew so did knowledge that AIDS was an epidemic of all people regardless of their class, race, age, or sexual preference. An article in The Village Voice, entitled â€Å"The Facts About Straight Sex and AIDS†, answers the questions of whether or not AIDS was a heterosexual disease. When in fact â€Å"as early as 1979, Haitian women in Miami were dying of what turned out to be AIDS. In Africa, AIDS [was] primarily a heterosexual disease (Fettner 21).â⠂¬  Randy Shilts was quoted as saying "This is never going to be a middle-class heterosexual disease (Fettner, 21)." Contrary to Randy Shilts' position, the primary change in the AIDS discourse in 1985 was a shift from a mainly homosexual disease to a homosexual/heterosexual disease. The heterosexual population [including the middle-class] had to acknowledge that they too were too at risk. By 1990 about two-thirds of people with AIDS in the United States contracted the disease from sexual intercourse (Willis 32). Due to this fact condoms became a form of not only birth control but also disease control. Condoms were being promoted as a safe sex device verses its traditional role as a contraceptive. Furthermore, to enhance the appeal of condoms, they were eroticized to make the condom a sexual tool versus a sexual crutch. The popular conception of AIDS was changed to be a disease that heterosexually active people could contract. The new issue was how do we prevent ourselves! from contracting thi... Free Essays on Aids Is the message getting through? We already know enough about AIDS to prevent its spread, but ignorance, complacency, fear and bigotry continue to stop many from taking adequate precautions. We know enough about how the infection is transmitted to protect ourselves from it without resorting to such extremes as mandatory testing, enforced quarantine or total celibacy. But too few people are heeding the AIDS message. Perhaps many simply don't like or want to believe what they hear, preferring to think that AIDS "can't happen to them." Experts repeatedly remind us that infective agents do not discriminate, but can infect any and everyone. Like other transmissible diseases, AIDS can strike anyone. It is not necessarily confined to a few high-risk groups. We must all protect ourselves from this infection and teach our children about it in time to take effective precautions. Given the right measures, no one need get AIDS. The pandemic continues: Many of us have forgotten about the virulence of widespread epidemics, such as the 1917-18 influenza pandemic which killed over 21 million people, including 50,000 Canadians. The arrival of a new and lethal virus caught us off guard. Research suggests that the agent responsible for AIDS probably dates from the 1950s, with a chance infection of humans by a modified Simian virus found in African green monkeys. Whatever its origins, scientists surmise that the disease spread from Africa to the Caribbean and Europe, then to the U.S. Current estimates are that 1.5 to 2 million Americans are now probably HIV carriers, with higher numbers in Central Africa and parts of the Caribbean. Recapping AIDS - the facts: AIDS is an insidious, often fatal but less contagious disease than measles, chicken pox or hepatitis B. AIDS is thought to be caused primarily by a virus that invades white blood cells (lymphocytes) - especially T4-lymphocytes or T-helper cells - and certain other body cells, including the brain. In... Free Essays on Aids The AIDS and HIV viruses are getting worse in the United States and the rest of the world. Although more people die of heart disease and cancer each year, AIDS has become the health problem people fear the most. Much of the fear comes from ignorance and misunderstanding. Education is the most effective tool against AIDS. It is important for young people to learn the facts about AIDS. It is a fact that the incidence of AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases is on a rapid rise among teens and people in their early twenties. HIV & AIDS, are rapidly increasing all over the United States. HIV is spread through the exchange of bodily fluids, primarily blood, semen, and blood products. HIV that is present in the sexual secretions of infected men and women gains access to the bloodstream of an uninfected person as a result of unprotected sex. Another way that a person can be infected is by sharing needles or syringes that results in direct exposure to the blood of an infected individ ual. This is common among people using drugs that are injected in the veins (Folks 4). HIV can also be transmitted from an infected mother to her baby, before or during childbirth, or through breast-feeding. Studies also show that only 25 to 35 percent of babies born to HIV-infected mothers worldwide actually become infected. This type of transmission accounts for 90 percent of all cases of AIDS in children. To me, this is the worst type of transmission because babies are defenseless and have no idea what is happening to them when they are so young (Treto). Even when the children of HIV-infected mothers are fortunate enough to avoid the virus, there is still yet another incidence of heart problems 12 times that of the children in the general population (Folks 4). Practices such as open mouth kissing, sharing toothbrushes, and sharing razors should be avoided. Researchers have recently identified a protein in saliva that prevents HIV from infecting white bloo... Free Essays on AIDS Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome I INTRODUCTION Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS), human viral disease that ravages the immune system, undermining the body’s ability to defend itself from infection and disease. Caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), AIDS leaves an infected person vulnerable to opportunistic infections. Such infections are harmless in healthy people, but in those whose immune systems have been greatly weakened, they can prove fatal. Although there is no cure for AIDS, new drugs are available that can prolong the life spans and improve the quality of life of infected people. Infection with HIV does not necessarily mean that a person has AIDS. Some people who have HIV infection may not develop any of the clinical illnesses that define the full-blown disease of AIDS for ten years or more. Physicians prefer to use the term AIDS for cases where a person has reached the final, life-threatening stage of HIV infection. II PREVALENCE AIDS was first identified in 1981 among homosexual men and intravenous drug users in New York and California. Shortly after its detection in the United States, evidence of AIDS epidemics grew among heterosexual men, women, and children in sub-Saharan Africa. AIDS quickly developed into a worldwide epidemic, affecting virtually every nation. By 2002 an estimated 38.6 million adults and 3.2 million children worldwide were living with HIV infection or AIDS. The World Health Organization (WHO), a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN), estimates that from 1981 to the end of 2002 about 20 million people died as a result of AIDS. About 4.5 million of those who died were children under the age of 15. A North America In the United States about 40,000 new HIV infections occur each year. More than 30 percent of these infections occur in women, and 60 percent occur in ethnic minorities. In 2001 more than 800,000 U.S. residents were infected with HIV, and more than 300,000... Free Essays on AIDS How is HIV Diagnosed? You can get tested for HIV in a number of locations including public clinics, AIDS organizations, physicians' offices, and hospitals. Many locations give the test for free. You can choose between anonymous tests, in which you do not give your name to the HealthCare provider, or confidential tests, in which you do give your name. Test sites should provide trained counselors who can offer you support and guidance, no matter what the test result.(Balch-97) An HIV test looks for the antibodies your immune system creates in response to the virus. These antibodies may not appear in your blood until three to six months after HIV infection. Therefore, a negative test for HIV does not necessarily mean you aren't infected. That's why if you are at risk for HIV infection you should get tested periodically in addition to practicing safer sex at all times. T-cell counts If you test HIV-positive, you should have frequent blood tests to determine the levels of healthy T cells. These cell counts help indicate how quickly the infection is progressing and which course of treatment is best. Normal T-cell count is 800 to 1,300 cells per cubic millimeter of blood. In the first few months after HIV infection, T-cells may decrease to 400 to 650. As infection progresses, T cells drop to a second level of 200 to 499. At this stage you can expect to have late symptoms, although this too is variable. The most life-threatening AIDS illnesses happen when T-cell levels fall below 200.(Berkow-97) Early Symptoms Once HIV enters your body through semen, vaginal secretions, blood, or human breast milk it generally takes a month or two before creating symptoms, if any (not everyone has symptoms at this stage). These initial symptoms are similar to the flu and can last three to 14 days: -Fever -Chills -Night sweats -Skin rashes -Headache -Malaise -Swollen lymph nodes (immune system organs easily fe... Free Essays on Aids D. Smith Biology 1 Reviews AIDS Epidemic Still Alive Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is human viral disease that destroys the immune system and the body’s ability to defend itself from infection and disease. AIDS is caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), AIDS leaves an infected person vulnerable to infections. Such infections are harmless in healthy people, but in those whose immune systems have been greatly weakened, they can prove fatal. Although there is no cure for AIDS, new drugs are available that can prolong the life spans and improve the quality of life of infected people. Some people who have HIV infection may not develop any of the clinical illnesses that define the full-blown disease of AIDS for ten years or more. Physicians prefer to use the term AIDS for cases where a person has reached the final, life-threatening stage of HIV infection. In the United States about 40,000 new HIV infections occur each year. More than 30 percent of these infections occur in women, and 60 percent occur in ethnic minorities. In 2000 about 800,000 to 900,000 U.S. residents were infected with HIV, and about 300,000 people were living with full-blown AIDS. In South Africa AIDS is the Leading killer among women and is killing more people every year. Aids related illnesses are responsible for 9.8 percent of female deaths in South Africa in 2001, up from 5.6 percent in 1997 according to a survey by Statistics South Africa. The survey also showed AIDS-related deaths among the all South Africans rose from 4.6 percent in 1997 to 8.7 percent in 2001. It is estimated that 4.7 million South Africans or 11 percent of the population are infected with the AIDS virus.... Free Essays on AIDS The issue of HIV/AIDS has been a developing concern since the early 1980’s. It is an issue that has sparked fear in everyone, but â€Å"society† has narrowed it down to certain people who can contract the AIDS virus. The typical â€Å"AIDS† victim is not an IV drug user or a practicing homosexual; they are African Americans, and minority women. AIDS is spread in many ways, such as having unprotected sex, sharing needles, from mothers to infants during pregnancy, and getting tattoos with dirty needles. Some of the most common questions is â€Å"How is HIV/AIDS passed from one person to another? How effective are latex condoms in preventing HIV/AIDS?† Although these are questions of concern, the real and most controversial question is â€Å"Is the United States doing an effective job in educating people, especially African Americans and minority women, about HIV/AIDS?† This is a question with many opposing viewpoints. While some people, believe that t he United States is doing an effective job in educating people on HIV/AIDS; there are others who believe that they are not doing an effective job. I believe that the United States is doing a good job, but at the same time they are not doing a well enough job. Whether people are being educated or not depends more on if they are taking the time to actually research and get information on the HIV/AIDS virus, rather than people coming to give them information. There are many ways to get information, such as online websites, magazine articles, the library, health clinics, hospitals etc. Everything one would need to know is out there, but it is up to that person on how important it is to obtain this knowledge. As people seek to be educated on AIDS, the United States should take those same steps to get more information to more people within its fifty states. First, I believe that the United States is doing an effective job in educating African Americans and minorities about the HIV/AIDS virus. As ... Free Essays on Aids AIDS Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, better known as AIDS, is caused by the incurable HIV virus. AIDS is a deadly disease that deteriorates the immune system. There are two groups of HIV (human immunodeficiency virus), HIV-1 that occurs throughout the world and HIV-2 that mainly occurs in Africa. The HIV virus enters the white blood cells and takes over the reproductive system of that cell and uses the system to reproduce itself. The white blood cell dies and the new HIV cells infect other white blood cells and repeat the process. If you have become infected with the AIDS disease you may not have any symptoms of the for the next ten years. The AIDS disease makes the less serious conditions harder for your body to control or get rid of because of the loss of many of the white blood cells in your body. The most common causes of death for the people with AIDS are pneumonia and Kaposi's sarcoma, which afflict 70% of the infected people. AIDS is transmitted in three ways. Intimate sexual contact is the most common. While direct contact with infected blood and transactions to babies from the infected mother's fetus will also cause the disease. Although some speculation, you cannot receive the disease from air, food, water, or insects. AIDS is a life and death issue. To have the AIDS disease is a sentence of slow but inevitable death. There currently is no cure or vaccine for this disease. There are drugs that have been proven effective in slowing the spread of this deadly disease. We know enough about how the infection is transmitted to protect ourselves from it. But too few people are hearing the AIDS message. Perhaps many simply don't like or want to believe what they hear, preferring to think that AIDS "can't happen to them." Like other communicable diseases, AIDS can strike anyone. AIDS doesn't just occur in certain social groups. We must all protect ourselves from this infection and learn about it in tim... Free Essays on AIDS Is the message getting through? We already know enough about AIDS to prevent its spread, but ignorance, complacency, fear and bigotry continue to stop many from taking adequate precautions. We know enough about how the infection is transmitted to protect ourselves from it without resorting to such extremes as mandatory testing, enforced quarantine or total celibacy. But too few people are heeding the AIDS message. Perhaps many simply don't like or want to believe what they hear, preferring to think that AIDS "can't happen to them." Experts repeatedly remind us that infective agents do not discriminate, but can infect any and everyone. Like other communicable diseases, AIDS can strike anyone. It is not necessarily confined to a few high-risk groups. We must all protect ourselves from this infection and teach our children about it in time to take effective precautions. Given the right measures, no one need get AIDS. The pandemic continues: Many of us have forgotten about the virulence of widespread epidemics, such as the 1917/18 influenza pandemic which killed over 21 million people, including 50,000 Canadians. Having been lulled into false security by modern antibiotics and vaccines about our ability to conquer infections, the Western world was ill prepared to cope with the advent of AIDS in 1981. (Retro- spective studies now put the first reported U.S. case of AIDS as far back as 1968.) The arrival of a new and lethal virus caught us off guard. Research suggests that the agent responsible for AIDS probably dates from the 1950s, with a chance infection of humans by a modified Simian virus found in African green monkeys. Whatever its origins, scientists surmise that the disease spread from Africa to the Caribbean and Europe, then to the U.S. Current estimates are that 1.5 to 2 million Americans are now probably HIV carriers, with higher numbers in Central Africa and parts of the Caribbean. Recapping AIDS - the facts: AIDS is an...