Within the last fifteen years the Human Immunodeficiency Virus / Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS) has increased significantly since its first recognition in the United States of America in the early 1980s. HIV/AIDS is one of the top killers in the world today. In July 2008, the UNAIDS 2008 Report estimated that at the end of 2007 around 30. 8 million adults and 2 million children were living with HIV (See Table 1). At the end of 2007, an estimated 2. 0 million people succumbed to this deadly disease of which 0. 27 million were children (AVERTing HIV and AIDS n. d. ).
On 17th May 1999, an article in the London Daily Telegraph, Letter to the Editor section, was published by Mrs. Polly Kirk stating that HIV/AIDS is linked to sexual relations with monkeys. In 1957, Mrs. Kirk worked at Fever Hospital in Johannesburg, Africa as a student nurse. Her first recollection of the virus was the arrival of patients at the hospital with sores of odd appearances. Their patients were unfamiliar with the English language and were unable to explain their symptoms. Despite numerous tests being done, the medical team was unable to diagnosis the illness prior to their patients’ deaths.
It was later discovered that monkeys (with a green sheen coat) in the Congo were kept as pets and admired/honoured. The people thought the green sheen was a sign of mystical powers. Men contracted the “green monkey disease” due to their surprising sexual practices with the monkeys. The “green monkey disease” was later determined to be the first cases of AIDS in Africa (Heretical. com n. d. ). The Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is a virus that attacks and destroys the functions of the immune system (mainly the CD4 positive T cells and macrophages).
The CD4 positive T cells are types of white blood cells that help our bodies fight off infection (i-Base n. d. ) and macrophages are white blood cells found within tissues (Wikipedia n. d. ). When the CD4 count is below 200/mL, HIV would be in a more advanced stage of the virus and referred to as AIDS. HIV is transferred by humans-to-human sexual contact (unprotected anal or vaginal sex), use of contaminated syringes from infected persons, blood-to-blood contact, organ transplants and sometimes through birth and breast milk.
When the immune system weakens, it is more vulnerable to infections such as Syphilis, Cancer, Tuberculosis, Meningitis, Pneumocystis Carinii Pneumonia, Toxoplasmosis and extreme weight loss (STOP AIDS Project 1985). Unfortunately, there is no cure for HIV/AIDS. A person can protect themselves from HIV/AIDS (About. com: AIDS/HIV 2009) by: * Using a latex condom every time they have sexual intercourse; * Staying in monogamous relationships; * Not sharing / injecting themselves with used syringes.
Unfortunately, breastfeeding newborns are still at risk of contracting HIV/AIDS from their mothers. The World Health Organisation states that through breastfeeding, an estimated 150,000 newborns are infected each year globally. The numbers are less comparable in the Western Hemisphere because of the availability and easy access to clean water, formula and antiretroviral medications and technology advances. (About. com: AIDS/HIV 2009). HIV/AIDS is a disease that can affect all persons no matter their race, gender, age or fame.
Thanks to the men in the Congo, as at December 31, 2007, an estimated 33 million people worldwide (inclusive of adults and children) were living with HIV and 2 million passed away. Infected persons will constantly battle infections due to the depletion of their CD4 T cell count. This death sentence could have been avoided if they had only protected themselves. TABLE 1 “The latest statistics on the world epidemic of AIDS & HIV were published by UNAIDS/WHO in July 2008, and refer to the end of 2007. “ (AVERTing HIV and AIDS n.
d. )| | Estimate| Range| People living with HIV/AIDS in 2007| 33. 0 million| 30. 3-36. 1 million| Adults living with HIV/AIDS in 2007| 30. 8 million| 28. 2-34. 0 million| Women living with HIV/AIDS in 2007| 15. 5 million| 14. 2-16. 9 million| Children living with HIV/AIDS in 2007| 2. 0 million| 1. 9-2. 3 million| People newly infected with HIV in 2007| 2. 7 million| 2. 2-3. 2 million| Children newly infected with HIV in 2007| 0. 37 million| 0. 33-0. 41 million| AIDS deaths in 2007| 2. 0 million| 1. 8-2. 3 million|Child AIDS deaths in 2007| 0. 27 million| 0. 25-0. 29 million| Source: http://www. avert. org/worldstats. htm.
References About. com: AIDS/HIV. 2009. http://aids. about. com/od/hivprevention/a/quickfacts4. htm (accessed April 14, 2009). AVERTing HIV and AIDS. AVERT. org. http://www. avert. org/worldstats. htm (accessed April 6, 2009). AVERTing HIV and AIDS. AVERT. org. http://www. avert. org/origins. htm (accessed April 6, 2009).
Heretical. com. http://www. heretical. com/miscella/aids. html (accessed April 6, 2009). i-Base. http://www.i-base. info/guides/pregnancy/glossary. html (accessed April 6, 2009). STOP AIDS Project. 1985. http://www. stopaids. org/resources/std_info/definitions. html (accessed April 6, 2009). UNAIDS – Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS. http://www. unaids. org (accessed April 6, 2009).
Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Macrophage (accessed April 6, 2009). Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/List_of_causes_of_death_by_rate#cite_note-1 (accessed April 6, 2009).