Abstract Acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) has been reported in cases throughout the world. This paper describes what AIDS is by definition, a lists ways the virus is transmitted. In addition to general information given about AIDS, this paper addresses the problem of AIDS, what is being done to control the virus, how it applies to supply and demand, and the effect of AIDS on the United States and Africa. What is HIV/AIDS and what does it do to the body? Acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) is the result of an infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).
This virus attacks certain cells of the immune, nervous, and other systems impairing and disabling their proper function. HIV infection may cause damage to the brain and spinal cord, causing encephalitis, nerve damage, and difficulties in thinking (i. e. , AIDS dementia), behavioral changes, poor circulation, headache, and stroke. AIDS may also affect the nervous system. Neurological symptoms may be mild in the early stages of AIDS, but may become severe in the final stages. Complications vary widely from one patient to another.
The disease is transmitted predominately by heterosexual activity, exposure to blood transfusions and un-sterilized needles, and from infected mothers to their newborns, and will continue to spread rapidly where economic and cultural factors favor these modes of transmission. There is currently no cure for AIDS but recently developed, experimental treatments appear very promising. Some symptoms and complications may improve with treatment. For example, a drug called Antidementia may relieve confusion and slow mental decline, and infections may be treated with antibiotics.
The prognosis for individuals with AIDS in recent years has improved significantly because of new drugs and treatments, and educational and preventive efforts. How big is the problem? HIV/AIDS has been recognized as a global health problem. In sub-Saharan Africa, compared to the United States and the rest of the world the prevalence of HIV/AIDS is unfathomable. Since its discovery in 1981 the incidence has gone up every year. It has reached epidemic proportions in some countries. According to the World Factbook Swaziland, Botswana, and Lesotho are among the countries with the highest AIDS prevalence with 38.
8%, 37. 3%, and 28. 9% respectively. This is a huge gap when considering the . 6% of the United States population that is living with the unshakable disease. Though this is a measure of all reported cases of the diseases, there are many more that go undetected. To assess the geographic scope and sheer magnitude of the AIDS and HIV problem in Africa is a daunting task. First, infectious disease surveillance capability is limited because of weaknesses in the health infrastructure, inadequate resources, and lack of qualified professionals to deal with this aspect of the problem.
Secondly, the definition of AIDS as used by the CDC requires prohibitively expensive lab equipment for the diagnosis of this disease. African countries are now collaborating with international allies against the AIDS epidemic. By doing this is going to make it easier and more efficient for countries in Africa to measure and treat this ramped disease. In 2004, according to the CDC estimates there were 462,792 people living with HIV/AIDS in 35 areas that have a history of confidential name-based HIV reporting.
However, it is thought that the real number of people in this country living with HIV/AIDS is between 1,039,000 and 1,185,000. The difference in the numbers is based on several factors. First is anonymous testing. These tests include home testing kits and results are excluded from case reports. Anonymous tests without names may be tested and reported more than once therefore making these types of tests liabilities to the true numbers. Home tests may be administered incorrectly making the results unreliable and therefore unable to be reported.
Secondly, 25% of people living with HIV/AIDS don’t even know they are infected. IN 2004 an estimated 38,730 new cases of HIV/AIDS were reported from the 35 areas that have confidential name-based reporting. This is a slight increase from 2003. 73% of the new cases reported in 2004 were among adult and adolescent males, 27% were adult and adolescent females, and less that 1% of the new cases reported in 2004 were children under the age of 13. In 2004 it is estimated that there were 415,193 people living with full-blown AIDS. Of this number 77% were men of adult or adolescent age.
Of this male population 58% were infected from homosexual contact, 21% were infected with “dirty” needles, 11% were infected through heterosexual contact, and 8% had a double incidence of homosexual contact and “dirty” needles. 22. 5% of the 415,193 full-blown AIDS cases were adult or adolescent females. And of that population 64% of the cases were infected from heterosexual contact and the other 36% percent from needles. It is very rare that females acquire the disease through homosexual contact. The remaining . 5% of infected AIDS patients are children, 97% of whom received it from birth and the rest through blood transfusions.
It is estimated by the CDC that of the people living with the full-blown AIDS virus 43% are black, 35% are white, and 20% Hispanic. Though most of the AIDS cases are men, there are a higher percentage of women that are dying from the disease. This is because the immune system of a female deteriorates more quickly than that of a male. Doctors only start certain drug treatments at a certain stage of virus progression. This is because the drugs used in this therapy are very potent, but lose there strength after a number of years. On top of that most of the medications have serious unwanted side effects.
The doctors typically go by a standard count of 10,000 copies of HIV per milliliter of blood in order to start the therapy. In a study done by Homayoon Farzadegan it was observed that at the point where men and women had comparable deterioration of their immune systems, the women had half as much HIV in their blood as the men did at the same point. Because of this previously undetected difference, and because doctors were treating the patients based on the HIV count in their blood women were being treated in a much later stage than their male counterparts.
What is being done to control the virus? There are a number of ways to control the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Prevention is the best control for the virus if it has not yet been contracted. First and foremost people must be educated about the disease, what it can do and how to avoid getting or spreading it to and from others. In the United States and abroad there are numerous programs aimed at the prevention of HIV/AIDS. This must be the case because with out education, people don’t know that the problem exists. Most programs aimed at young people I feel should be about the practice of abstinence.
If people are not having premarital sex or having “heavy petting” episodes where the genitalia are exposed and come in contact with any bodily fluids, it is almost impossible to contract the disease. If one is participating in premarital sex, practicing safe sex with a condom is a necessity. The only problem with encouraging safe sex through the use of a condom is the misuse or non-use of a condom when one is available. Some people are curious to know what it feels like without a condom and this is when the non-use of available protection happens.
The misuse of a condom happens when a condom is not properly put on, removed, or discarded. Secondly, one should not share contaminated needles with another. More often than not the needle used will have some type of blood on or in it. That blood carries the HIV/AIDS virus very well. Lastly, getting tested is paramount in suppressing the spread of HIV/AIDS. Many people in this country are not tested because they feel like they can look at a person and tell if he or she has the disease or not. They also may not get tested if they don’t have any symptoms or they are afraid to.
These two points are huge problems because most people if they know they are infected will not go out and infect the general population. People who don’t know they are infected and are comfortable with their sexual lifestyle have no problem with continuing on in their ways. It is suggested that an individual get tested once or twice a year if they are sexually active. In some African cultures many women don not get tested out of fear. If they find out they are infected and their husbands find out they could be shunned in the community or even killed.
The bad thing is that in most cases the husband has brought the virus back himself. Many Africans are migrant workers. Just as many of the U. S. soldiers came back from Vietnam with STD’s and children after long stints over there, so do the migrant workers of Africa. By that wife not saying anything about her HIV status she is enabling her husband to take it and spread it into the world. Supply and Demand of HIV/AIDS As discussed above, HIV/AIDS is a huge problem worldwide that produces a supply and demand for education, prophylactics, and medical treatment.
Because of the magnitude of the HIV/AIDS epidemic and the distance we are away from having it under control on a global scale, I believe it is safe to say that there is a surplus demand and a supply deficit in all three areas. Medical treatment for HIV/AIDS is very expensive which implies that supply is limited, and there are so many patients who need care which means demand at a surplus. Because of this many people in poorer countries go untreated. Additionally, many poor people in richer countries go untreated as well.
There are a number of HIV/AIDS treatments out there, but the fact of the matter is these treatments are not readily available unless you can pay. According to the CDC in 1998 the average treatment price per year for (including doctor visits, medication, and hospital stays) was $18,300. This is very expensive by United States standards, but considering per capita GDP in most sub-Saharan Africa countries is less than $10,000 per year, these treatment prices are prohibitively high. There are some generic drugs on the horizon that have been approved by the FDA that will help with the cost medication aspect of HIV/AIDS treatment.
In America where we are the 4 richest countries in terms of per capita GDP, even with health insurance most of us would not be able to survive if someone in our family was stricken with HIV/AIDS. Supply and demand do not meet. The demand for HIV/AIDS education is highest of the three because of its ability to change peoples’ decisions and preferences to behaviors that are very possible to be detrimental to their health. There is shortage of proper and innovative educational tools not in the U. S. but in Africa.
The barriers of effective education prevent these people from being able to protect themselves and change their own lives. One of these is a language barrier. If I go to any country in Africa trying to educate the people on the realness of this HIV/AIDS problem most of them are going to look at me with a blank stare. This brings forth the importance of learning a second language and education. A collaborative effort with the locals who know English is imperative. Secondly, there are people in remote rural locations who can not be easily reached. There are also infrastructure problems because most of Africa is underdeveloped.
They have no roads, railways, phone lines, or telecommunication devices. The prevalence of HIV/AIDS in these unreachable rural communities is quite high. Though we have all of these factors against the global HIV/AIDS educational efforts and it may get quite expensive to mobilize the education, it is far less expensive when you take into account the cost of medical treatment of the virus, the number of lives lost, the number of torn families and orphans it produces, and the immeasurable loss created by the lack of economic development that results from this disease in Africa.
What Now? We have explored what HIV/AIDS is. We have an understanding of its symptoms. We know roughly how immense the problem is as it pertains to the United States and Africa. We know that the two most important factors that result in the magnitude of the problem are lack of education and the lack of funds for medical care. We also understand that as it pertains to supply and demand that an increase in supply of education on this subject will lead to a decrease in demand of treatment for the disease.
This will also make the treatment supply deficit disappear. Though the cost of education will be high in the beginning we will see that cost curve will be upside down and then flatten out. As the educational push begins to take affect, the cost of providing it will start to go down. As this cost starts to go down we will also see the per capita GDP’s in Africa. This is because AIDS is one of the worst impedances of economic development there.
Works Cited
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