A pregnant woman should be first tested for HIV to prevent the transmission of the virus to her unborn child. If the woman is HIV infected and already has children, then it is recommended that all of her children should take the necessary test to prevent further spread of the virus. The most common test done to children is the ELISA test. A blood test from a newborn baby is usually positive and it is therefore not suitable to test the newborn child with this test. There is no immediate way to know whether the baby is infected with the virus.
( Whose, J. , Sept. 1996). Infants who are not actually infected with the virus (but are born to HIV-positive mothers) will not make their own antibodies; the HIV antibodies that came from their mothers will gradually disappear from their blood before they reach 2 years of age. Any blood tests performed after this point will likely be HIV-negative. Infants who are infected with HIV from their mothers will begin to make their own HIV antibodies and will generally remain HIV-positive after 18 months of age.
The most accurate diagnosis of HIV infection in early infancy comes from tests that show the presence of the virus itself (not HIV antibodies) in the body. These tests include an HIV viral culture and PCR (polymerase chain reaction), a blood test that looks for the DNA of the virus. Older children, teens, and adults are tested for HIV infection by a blood test known as an ELISA test, which detects the presence of HIV antibodies in the blood. Antibodies are specific proteins that the body produces to fight infections; HIV-specific antibodies are produced in response to infection with HIV.
Someone with antibodies against HIV is said to be HIV-positive. If the ELISA test is positive it is always confirmed by another test called a Western blot. If both of these tests are positive, the patient is almost certainly infected with the HIV viru. (Hisa J. 1993). Treatment of HIV/AIDS As medical understanding about how the virus invades the body and multiplies within cells has increased, drugs to inhibit its growth and slow its spread have been developed.
Drug treatment for HIV/AIDS is complicated and expensive, but highly effective in slowing the replication (reproduction) of the virus and preventing or reducing some effects of the disease. Drugs to treat HIV/AIDS use at least three strategies, including: • interfering with HIV’s reproduction of its genetic material (these drugs are classified as nucleoside or nucleotide anti-retrovirals) • interfering with the enzymes HIV needs to take over certain body cells (these are called protease inhibitors)
• interfering with HIV’s ability to pack its genetic material into viral code – that is, the genetic “script” HIV needs to be able to reproduce itself (these are called non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors [NNRTIs]) Although a number of medicines are available to treat HIV infection and slow the onset of AIDS, unless they are taken and administered properly on a round-the-clock schedule, the virus can quickly become resistant to that particular mix of medications.
The HIV virus is very adaptable and finds ways to outsmart medical treatments that are not followed properly. This means that if prescribed medicines are not taken at the correct times every day, they will soon fail to keep HIV from reproducing and taking over the body. When that happens, a new regimen will need to be established with different drugs. And if this new mix of medicines is not taken correctly, the virus will likely become resistant to it as well and eventually the person will run out of treatment options.
The problem is that most of the drug for AIDS is not easily available. Many of the new medications that fight HIV infection are expensive. One of the major challenges facing individuals, families, communities, and nations is how to make these medications easily available to all that need them. Prevention There is no available vaccine for HIV, the only way to prevent the infection if by the virus to avoid behaviors that put you at risk of infection, such as sharing needles and having unprotected sex. ( Kaiser family, www. kff. org , 2006).
Mostly people infected with HIV have no symptoms. And because of this there is no way of knowing whether your partner is infected unless he or she has repeatedly tested negative for the virus and has not engaged in any risky behavior. You should abstain from having sex with your partner infected with HIV or use latex condom which may partial protection during oral, anal or vaginal sex.. Although some laboratory evidence shows that spermicides can kill HIV, researchers have not found that these products can prevent you from getting HIV.
HIV Trends The Center for Disease Control and Prevention are conducting surveillance for tracking the possible trend of HIV from 1980 up to the present. The CDC funds and assists state and local health departments to collect the information. During the 1980 AIDS case alone provided an adequate picture of HIV trends because the time between infection with HIV and progression to AIDS was predictable. To be able to monitor the trend of HIV in USA, all the states have adopted some system in reporting HIV cases to CDC.
In this way the CDC will be able to predict the trend of the disease. This will be their guide in determining HIV and producing possible cure and prevention of the disease. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2002).
Reference:
1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Public Health Service Task Force Recommendations for use of Antiretroviral drugs in Pregnant HIV-1 infected women for maternal health and intervention to reduce perinatal HIV-1 transmission in the United States, February 4, 2002, http://www. hivatis. org/