Monday, February 28, 2011

In the medical world, AIDS is fairly new,

In the medical world, AIDS is fairly new, only beginning to be diagnosed in the 1980’s and just barely has it begun to be understood by doctors. It is estimated that this fatal virus affects 37 million people worldwide. Countries that are still developing are the ones hit the hardest. In South Africa alone over 5 million people are living with AIDS or are HIV positive. This large number really plays a role in how businesses in South Africa are affected. A recent study was done to understand how AIDS impacts businesses. Six companies in Botswana and South Africa were surveyed. These were large, successful companies; 4 of which were subsidiaries of transnational corporations. The companies were in a range of industries from media to mining. Employing between 500 to 35,000 people each. A voluntary survey was given out to discover how many were affected by AIDS and how it impacted the companies financially.The study found that there was a large range of percentage of people infected with AIDS and that the number heavily depended on the type of job the person held. Overall 7.9% to 29% of the employees were infected with AIDS. Companies in mining and metal processing seemed to be affected the most, with more than 2





The study sought out what HIV-infected employees were costing them. The high AIDS "tax"� in these countries effect not only the office located there but also the entire global company. These costs were not included in the estimates for the AIDS "tax"� but are worth thinking about. These high costs to the employer are a result of a lack of neglect on controlling the AIDS epidemic. Education, counseling, HIV testing and treatment are some ways that corporations can begin to get involved in the health of their employees. For one company that meant a cost of $11. There are also many indirect costs of losing an employee to AIDS. Those that did not take preventive measures will have an inflated AIDS "tax"� that may make it extremely difficult to be a profitable business. 3 percent of their employees suffering from AIDS/HIV. Extra management time will be spent trying to deal with this new problem and the manager will be pulled away from the projects they were working on. Corporations can try to keep from losing more money as a result of AIDS/HIV by preventing the disease. While there may be no cure for AIDS yet, it is known how the virus is spread so for now prevention is the best approach. On the other hand, only 14 percent of people holding supervisory or managerial jobs were infected.

Aids

Aids

What does AIDS mean? AIDS stands for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. One of the most popular theories of the origin of AIDS is that the virus was restricted to a small part of Central Africa. It was thought to be in the mountains of Eastern Zaire. This virus is a type of hunta virus that was originally only found in monkeys. One theory holds that as the natural environment of these monkey species was moved into by human populations, the virus moved from the monkeys to the human population.





Recent findings show that there are other factors involved in the actual disease. He brought with him from Europe many forms of virus and bacteria . The theory holds that the virus itself does not cause the death of the patient, but because it disables the messenger T4 cells the immune system does not know when to become activated against a particular bacteria. To date there is no cure for this illness. The person dying from AIDS is actually dying from simple infections that a normal person heals from. However there has to be a transfer of bodily fluids from one person to the next in order for the virus to be transmitted. This illness reminds me of when Christopher Columbus came to the new world . In the treatment using AZT requires that the patient take the drug every three hours night and day. l is some controversy as to weather or not the virus actually causes the immune deficiency syndrome. As history shows the natives of the new world died in large numbers just from simple colds. This is a very difficult thing to do. The natives of the new world could have developed antibodies given enough time and low levels of germs. Many of the treatments are actually more painful than the illness. Some researchers feel that the virus is now in the process of mutating into a new strain already immune to the existing drugs.

"Somewhere among the million children who go to New York's publicly

AIDS

"Somewhere among the million children who go to New York's publicly financed schools is a seven-year-old child suffering from AIDS. A special health and education panel had decided, on the strength of the guidelines issued by the federal Centers for Disease Control, that the child would be no danger to his classmates. Yet, when the school year started on September 9th, several thousand parents in two school districts in the borough of Queens kept their children at home. Fear of plague can be as pernicious, and contagious, as the plague itself(Fear of dying 1)." This article was written in 1985. Since then much has been found out about AIDS. Not enough for a cure though. There probably will be no cure found in the near future because the technology needed is not available.AIDS cases were first identified in 1981,in the United States. Researchers have traced cases back to 1959. There are millions of diagnosed cases worldwide, but there is no cure (Drotman 163). There are about a million people in the United States who are currently infected with HIV (HIV/AIDS 1). It infects the population heavily in some areas of the country and very lightly in other areas. No race, sex, social class, or age is immune (AIDS Understand





A person can also get HIV from sharing other drug "works" with someone who is infected. The thing they don't understand is the concept of "not casually transmitted. There are two viruses that cause AIDS. If someone is going to , then he or she should atleast use a latex condom. HIV is the virus that leads to AIDS. The Center for Disease Control credits better treatments, new drugs, and better access to treatment through state and federal programs. A person can't get it from sharing a cigarette, cigar, or pipe, drinking from the same fountain, or from someone spitting on him or her. These three drugs also produce dangerous side effects. It can last anywhere from a few months to many years. This is when the immune system is severally damaged and the opportunistic diseases set in. From 1995 to 1996 the growth rate was less than 2%. AIDS is now an undeniable part of the world. From this point on the person's blood tests positively for HIV

Aids 3 AIDS Related Stigma Since the appearance of AIDS in the late seventies and early eighties, the disease has had attached to it a significant soc

Aids 3

AIDS Related Stigma Since the appearance of AIDS in the late seventies and early eighties, the disease has had attached to it a significant social stigma. This stigma has manifested itself in the form of discrimination, avoidance and fear of people living with AIDS (PLWAs). As a result, the social implications of the disease have been extended from those of other life threatening conditions to the point at which PLWAs are not only faced with a terminal illness but also social isolation and constant discrimination throughout society. Various explanations have been suggested as to the underlying causes of this stigmatization. Many studies point to the relationship the disease has with deviant behavior. Others suggest that fear of contagion is the actual culprit. Examining the existing literature and putting it into societal context leads one to believe that there is no one cause. Instead, there would appear to be a collection of associated factors that influence society’s attitudes towards AIDS and PLWAs. As the number of people infected with HIV increases, social workers are and will be increasingly called upon to deal with and serve PLWAs. Although not all social workers chose to work with PLWAs, the





One of the principal roles of the social worker is that of advocacy. Now AIDS would appear to fulfill such prophecies" (36). social experience may be a better teacher than educational efforts alone. Shortly after his death, a law was passed (the Ryan White Act) to try to prevent such discriminatory actions from happening again. Society tends to classify people who contract AIDS through blood transfusions, their mother"tms at birth, or other uncontrollable circumstances as innocent victims. As a result, the word AIDS alone conjures, for many, images of those who stray from what society deems normal behavior. Quam (1990) writes, "Their parents and other parental authorities warned them that if they succumbed to pleasures of the flesh they would suffer dire consequences. legislation was passed, the Canadian government included AIDS under its human rights commission anti- discrimination laws. Even today, AIDS is often referred to as "the gay plague" (Giblin, 1995). Homosexuals, in western culture, have almost always suffered the effects of being a stigmatized population.

Aids 1 AIDS Related Stigma Since the appearance of AIDS

Aids 1

AIDS Related Stigma Since the appearance of AIDS in the late seventies and early eighties, the disease has had attached to it a significant social stigma. This stigma has manifested itself in the form of discrimination, avoidance and fear of people living with AIDS (PLWAs). As a result, the social implications of the disease have been extended from those of other life threatening conditions to the point at which PLWAs are not only faced with a terminal illness but also social isolation and constant discrimination throughout society. Various explanations have been suggested as to the underlying causes of this stigmatization. Many studies point to the relationship the disease has with deviant behavior. Others suggest that fear of contagion is the actual culprit. Examining the existing literature and putting it into societal context leads one to believe that there is no one cause. Instead, there would appear to be a collection of associated factors that influence society’s attitudes towards AIDS and PLWAs. As the number of people infected with HIV increases, social workers are and will be increasingly called upon to deal with and serve PLWAs. Although not all social workers chose to work with PLWAs, the





This is of particular pertinence to the field of social work due to our growing involvement with the HIV positive population. At approximately the same time as U. As mentioned, PLWAs suffer from discrimination in a variety of settings. Ottowa/Quebec: Bibliotheque Nationale du Quebec & Bibliotheque Nationale du Canada. You can not shake your fist in God"tms face and get away with it" (Giblin, 1995). Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 27 (1). They suffer discrimination from the general public in a variety of settings, including work, school and within the health care environment. It should be noted, that according to the Social Work Code of Ethics, all social workers are obliged to serve all clients regardless their situation and have no right to refuse to serve a PLWA (CASW, 1990).

Sunday, February 27, 2011

AIDS Related Stigma Since the appearance of AIDS

Aids

AIDS Related Stigma Since the appearance of AIDS in the late seventies and early eighties, the disease has had attached to it a significant social stigma. This stigma has manifested itself in the form of discrimination, avoidance and fear of people living with AIDS (PLWAs). As a result, the social implications of the disease have been extended from those of other life threatening conditions to the point at which PLWAs are not only faced with a terminal illness but also social isolation and constant discrimination throughout society. Various explanations have been suggested as to the underlying causes of this stigmatization. Many studies point to the relationship the disease has with deviant behavior. Others suggest that fear of contagion is the actual culprit. Examining the existing literature and putting it into societal context leads one to believe that there is no one cause. Instead, there would appear to be a collection of associated factors that influence society’s attitudes towards AIDS and PLWAs. As the number of people infected with HIV increases, social workers are and will be increasingly called upon to deal with and serve PLWAs. Although not all social workers chose to work with PLWAs, the





Fears of AIDS and homophobia: implications for direct practice and advocacy. , 1996; Canadian Association of Social Workers, 1990; Quam, 1990 & Beauger, 1989). Much of the existing AIDS education material focuses on medical aspects of the disease and prevention. With an understanding of the issue of AIDS related stigma, it is essential for the field of social work to address this issue. An especially strong association exists between homosexuality and AIDS. Responses to persons with AIDS: fear of contagion or stigma?. As children, many people were told that of what could happen to them if they strayed from what their parents or religious doctrine considered appropriate behaviour. L"tmAssociation des Medecines de Langue Francaise du Canada (Ed.

AIDS My cousin Christopher was 16 years old when he died.

AIDS

My cousin Christopher was 16 years old when he died. Christopher had been fighting the disease known as AIDS throughout his life, and I didn’t know. I had always known when I was young that Christopher was sick in some way. His right hand was malformed and he had to receive a variety of injections each day from his mother. But as young as I was, I was never afraid of Chris or his sickness. Chris and I were friends as much as we were family. We would play spies together and hide on his steps as we watched our parents play cards. To me, Chris was a normal child who just needed some extra medicine. But after his death, I learned that his condition was much more serious then it appeared to be. The day after Chris’s death I asked my mom what Chris died from, and she told me that Chris had died from AIDS. I couldn’t believe what she had told me. I never thought a disease like AIDS cou





I count myself lucky to be alive each day and I truly live each day to it fullest. Chris had caught the disease form a blood transfusion that he received when he was born with cerebral palsy. When I learned about the pure stupidity of those parents in my cousin"tms school district, I realized how jaded our world really is because this is something that happens across our country. I have also learned something else form my cousin"tms death and that is that life is to short and precious to be wasted. This lesson that I learned through such a tough experience has really helped me shape and decide what I want in my future. I believe that if people became more educated, our world would be a much more happy and peaceful place. I want to fulfill my dreams and take advantage of my life and time here on earth, so any opportunity that comes my way, I take it to the max. I also helped girls in my school learn about the disease by having my Aunt Dorothy (Christopher"tms mother) and another speaker come to my school to speak to the eleventh and twelfth grade about awareness and prevention. After Chris"tm death, I learned more about his life. After I learned this I was upset, but I decided that I wanted to do something about it. I learned that when it was time for my cousin to go to school, there was some debate between school officials and other parents surrounding the issue of other children going to school with my cousin Chris who had AIDS. I wasn"tmt at all worried when I learned of his disease; the only thing that truly bothered me was that my family didn"tmt tell me until he was gone. Since Christopher died at such a young age, he didn"tmt get to fulfill his dreams. I don"tmt think I would have been afraid of Chris, but we will never know for sure.

Aids

The topic I choose for my last journal is HIV/AIDS. Over my life through High school and in my first year of college I have learned about HIV/AIDS in many of my classes. We were taught high-risk behaviors and many ways to prevent it. I was taught all similar material in this course but this all took on a whole new meaning recently. Some of the high-risk behaviors to get HIV/Aids are using IV drugs, Blood transfusions, unprotected anal or vaginal sex. When I was younger hearing things like this made me immediately think “ I can’t get this disease.” I thought to myself “I’m not a drug addict, the hospitals now screen blood very carefully and I don’t have sex yet. Even if I did have sex my boyfriend is clean he couldn’t have this.” This was my attitude for a long time until now. This is why this topic really hit home when we studied it in this course. I realized w





I had called up one of my good friends just to say hello, and see how everything was going. This class and this whole experience have made me think twice before doing any high-risk behaviors and I am truly thankful for this. This was one of those guys everyone loved a real ladies man. As I went through my life more and more HIV/AIDS became more and more real to me. I was never that shocked in my life. Also I have seen my friends use IV drugs, where as 5 years ago the thought of me using IV drugs was out of the question. In the sense that if anyone of them has this disease I will more then likely get it. This is why I choose to write about HIV/AIDS its sad that it took something like this to make me realize how truly real this disease is but I"tmm glad I realized before it was too late. e went through the chain of a person having sex that if my partner had a couple previous partners, I was in fact having sex with all of them. The trouble was he never used condoms, he felt he was not at risk with his partners. I"tmm happy that the test was negative but even a little scare like that can change the way I live my life. He told me that one of his best friends that is also a friend of mine was in the hospital in critical condition. The good news is that he got back the HIV/AIDS test and it came back negative but he is still in critical condition and they are unsure what it wrong with him. The danger of this disease didn"tmt truly hit until about a week ago.

A virus is the smallest particle that consists

AIDS

A virus is the smallest particle that consists of a nucleic acid and it attacks your cells just like the Aids virus. They can not replicate themselves it must use a host cell. For instance, if we were to catch a cold our cells would be the host cells. They attach to the host cell and insert their DNA/RNA and then the host cell replicates the virus. Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, also known as AIDS, is a virus that is very deadly. There has been more than 700,000





Some people don"tmt have symptoms even when their count is below 200. These host cells cannot be depicted from our other uninfected cells, therefore in order to kill them, we would have to kill our own healthy cells. HIV infection lowers the CD4+T cells in the immune system, in turn lowering white blood cell count. So when you have AIDS and you catch a common cold, you could die because your immune system could not handle it. The way to do this is with the use of a vaccine. Here are some symptoms of AIDS: coughing, shortness of breath, severe headaches, vision loss, weight loss, and extreme fatigue. If the CD4+T count is just above 200, you could experience some early symptoms. AIDS attacks your immune system which is made up of many interdependent cell types that protects your body from bacteria, parasites, fungal, and viral infections also from the growth of tumor cells. We cannot kill the AIDS virus because the virus uses host cells to infect the body. You cannot get it from exchanging saliva. It is mostly spread by sexual activity or by blood transfusions. In young children, they will get pink eye, ear infections, and tonsillitis. So the only logical, efficient way to stop the AIDS virus is to innervate it before it infects our cells.

Scientists have concluded, based on mathematical

AIDS

Scientists have concluded, based on mathematical research, that the virus that lead to the epidemic of AIDS can be traced all the way back to 1930, somewhere around Central Africa. Bette Korber, of the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, presented this conclusion at the Conference of Retroviruses. The notion that HIV was introduced in contaminated oral polio vaccines in Africa between the years of 1957 and 1961 has been often debated and challenged. The results presented by Korber, not only refute the before mentioned allegations, but also move us toward finding out where the virus really came from and in which direction it is heading in the future. The first sample discovered in 1959 comes from a man in Congo, who died as a member of the M class of HIV, the type that most people are infected with today. However old the virus was, it was evident that it wasn’t the first of its kind. The reason that the virus was ever connected to polio





The fact that we are making progress such as this, where we now know that HIV really originated thirty years before we presumed, is leading us to understand more about this epidemic. AIDS and the HIV virus are very real issues in the world and especially in America. IssueThe matter being discussed here is the AIDS epidemic. The Nirvana was also able to determine that the virus appeared in the Caribbean Islands such as Haiti, in the 1960"tms, while it came to America more than ten years later. However, with each new scientific discovery, I have a renewed hope in our civilization"tms survival of the plague we commonly call AIDS. It is quite definite that the virus came from chimpanzees in the area around Gabon, Cameroon, and the Central African rainforest. After that, the virus has taken on six different strands, and is spread in humans mostly through sexual intercourse. Each day thousands of researchers scientists and mathematicians try to go further, so that they might bring the world closer to a cure. Whether it is the needle of the syringe of a junkie, a blood transfusion or the exchange of bodily fluids, people are getting infected and dying every day with this disease, and there is no remedy. It most probably passed onto the hunters while they were butchering the animals. After plugging in dates, formulas and locations, the Nirvana located the origin of the HIV virus as being 1930, however the range of error shows that it could have been anywhere from 1915 to 1942. I see people dying of AIDS and it scares me to think that, if I am not overly cautious, it could be me as well. I realize that the discovery of a vaccine is still far off, and there is a chance that there will never be a complete cure. Opinion It is very refreshing for me to read articles of this kind.

Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome also

AIDS

Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome also known as AIDS is a group of many different illnesses that together make the characteristics of a disease. AIDS begins with attacks on the immune system caused by an infection called the human immunodeficiency virus known best as HIV. In patients who have acquired HIV there is a steady loss of immune cells called CD4+ T-lymphocytes. The loss of the immune cells can result in the development of other diseases caused by common infections that don’t threaten normal, healthy people. These infections include fungal, bacterial, protozoal, and viral diseases. It usually takes about six to ten years for a person who contracted HIV to develop AIDS. In 1983, HIV was identified as a new human retrovirus. Luc Montagnier and scientists at the Pasteur Institute in Paris had isolated the retrovirus from a lymph nodes of a man who was thought to be at the risk of getting AIDS. Almost at the same time both Robert Gallo’s group at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and a group led by Jay Levy at the University of California had isolated the retrovirus from several different AIDS patients. When HIV was identified in 1983 the opportunity to develop a method of detection was great. Screening tests now





AIDS is such a serious problem in Africa mainly because of the lack of information and unsafe sex. In the past year, two other vaccines where also developed. Research by the Church World Service (CWS) in Senegal has shown that the Moringa is a fountain of vitamin and minerals. Other common infections with the herpes simplex virus types 1 and 2 result in oral, genital, and perianal lesions. This causes general weight loss, fever, and complications in both the respiratory system and central nervous system. You also can"tmt contract the disease by eating food made by an individual with HIV or by hugging, kissing, or touching. CD4+ T-lymphocytes are the major white blood cells lost through the infection of HIV. Many AIDS infected patients get cancers. It can serve as a nutritional supplement, promoting health and a longer life. Viral opportunistic infections, especially in the herpes family, are very common in AIDS patients. After the Acute Retroviral Syndrome patients enter the asymptomatic phase that can last up to ten years or more. The immune system is in severe failure and patients enter the advanced AIDS phase. This part has killer cells that seek out and destroy HIV infected-cells. Like Thandiwae Mwandla"tms case people were scared they could contract the disease by simply touching something that an infected person had also touched.

Growing up as a teenager in today’s society is not as

Aids

Growing up as a teenager in today’s society is not as easy as it may have been in generations past. Young adults of today’s era face many social and environmental issues that plague them with immense stress. For example, violence among youth and, more specifically, school shootings and gang violence strike fear among every adolescent’s mind before they face each day at school. And the pressure from peers for using and abusing illegal drugs is as strong as it has ever been. But today, the youth of America are faced with a crisis unique to the modern era; the soaring rate of adolescent AIDS infection. The Human Immunodeficiency Virus, or HIV, causes the terminal Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome. AIDS weakens the body’s immune system to a point where any ordinary infection, such as the flu or common cold, can cause death. Originally thought of as a “Gay-Man’s” disease when AIDS was first prevalent in this country in the early eighties, AIDS is now recognized as a major crisis across the country among heterosexuals, in addition to the homosexual population of this country (Mays, Albee, & Schneider, 1989). And in recent years, the rate of occurrence of AIDS among America’s youth has increased at an almost exp





This may be due to the fact that they suffer from an incurable, terminal disease, or it may be the result of a low self-esteem. According to these statistics, up until now, previous interventions for containing and reducing the prevalence of AIDS have not worked. It is also to raise awareness of how one"tms dreams and goals are affected by your choices, pregnancy has no easy solutions, the seriousness of sexually transmitted diseases, the effect emotional scars can have on one"tms life, the failure rate of contraceptives, and the preciousness of the gift of virginity. Their energy is drained and thus they feel they don"tmt have the ability to carry out a task (Valdiserri, 1989). Statistics have shown that, in the past decade or so, the number of AIDS cases among young adults has been on a steady climb. Presentations are limited to fifty students for grades five and six, seventy-five students for grades seven and eight, and one hundred students for high school presentations. In the fifth grade, a time in a child"tms life where they become attracted to the opposite sex, a basic sex-education course should be implemented into the curriculum. In the sixth grade, students will participate in three-week course that would meet twice a week for forty-five minutes per session, which raises awareness of the dangers of the consequences of unprotected sex with the most emphasis on sexually transmitted diseases and pregnancy. The high school level program is usually put into effect in the ninth grade and is also taught by teachers from each respective school. Regardless of the cause, helplessness is a very big step in the wrong direction for AIDS"tms sufferers because they have come to the realization that they can"tmt help that they"tmre going to die and thus, they give up on any hope to keep fighting. Another mental condition that may develop from illness is known as the "Health Belief Model. The patient may also develop anxiety from trying to prevent any infection from invading his or her body because the infection may cause death. Today, AIDS is recognized as the fifth most common cause of death among people ranging from ages 14-24 years (A Decade of Denial: Teens and AIDS in America, 1992). The next two weeks will emphasize the many advantages of abstinence including the elimination of unwanted pregnancies and contracting sexually transmitted diseases. Along with teaching about the dangers of unprotected sex, the course will also inform students of the use of protection (including condoms, spermicide, etc.

Saturday, February 26, 2011

The HIV/AIDS is an issue of a big concern around the world,

AIDS

The HIV/AIDS is an issue of a big concern around the world, but it becomes more complicated when it is observed among senior citizens. This problem is not speedily known, what causes the increase of percentage of people getting infected among that age group. In fact, this problem requires immediate attention and possible solutions to help to prevent the spread of infection, otherwise it can grow to a very big issue.Nowadays the incidence of HIV among seniors of 50 and older is rapidly increasing. This is hard to believe but many seniors in the United States are infected with HIV. Most of them do not even know about that, and they all consider it as typical aging problems they usually encounter. Loss of appetite, constant headaches, fatigue, weight loss or rashes can be associated with aging but in reality those are some of the main symptoms of HIV/AIDS. According to the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, AIDS cases among Americans over 50 have quintupled since





If we do not act now, the danger of facing this problem will increase more and more. "�HIV among elderly citizens is an issue which is barely known, but it is becoming rapidly spread and very soon it might become a big problem of concern in addition to the HIV/AIDS issues among younger generation. My husband was infected four years before we met. It is very difficult to deal with it, because people do not understand that regardless of age the risk of getting HIV is the same in all respects. Many physicians are not skilled and comfortable in addressing sexual health, and drug abuse patterns when they talk to their senior patients. "It took about six years to figure out what I had because I had diabetes, and some of the symptoms are the same,"� said Evey Richardson, in The Boston Globe, June 2001, 56-years old grandmother who used to think AIDS was for other people. We need to fight this issue and help each other. The more people know, the more there is a chance of prevention and preserving their health from HIV and a chance to decrease the rate of infection. e 1995, up from 16,300 in 1995 to 90,600 in 2003. Today, seniors represent 14 percent of total AIDS cases. Many agencies that work with HIV-positive clients have failed to address this issue. There is a need to prevent these causes and spread the awareness of HIV among everyone. "We have failed to put an older face on HIV/AIDS,"� said Frances Jackson, associate professor of nursing at Oakland University, in previously cited The Detroit Health news. Together people can make a big change; together we can stop this fatal disease which effects all generations.

AIDS Related Stigma Since the appearance of AIDS

Aids 2

AIDS Related Stigma Since the appearance of AIDS in the late seventies and early eighties, the disease has had attached to it a significant social stigma. This stigma has manifested itself in the form of discrimination, avoidance and fear of people living with AIDS (PLWAs). As a result, the social implications of the disease have been extended from those of other life threatening conditions to the point at which PLWAs are not only faced with a terminal illness but also social isolation and constant discrimination throughout society. Various explanations have been suggested as to the underlying causes of this stigmatization. Many studies point to the relationship the disease has with deviant behavior. Others suggest that fear of contagion is the actual culprit. Examining the existing literature and putting it into societal context leads one to believe that there is no one cause. Instead, there would appear to be a collection of associated factors that influence society’s attitudes towards AIDS and PLWAs. As the number of people infected with HIV increases, social workers are and will be increasingly called upon to deal with and serve PLWAs. Although not all social workers chose to work with PLWAs, the





in 1990 after the highly publicized case of Ryan White. Even today, AIDS is often referred to as "the gay plague" (Giblin, 1995). As people are becoming more aware of how the virus is transmitted, they seem to be become less fearful of PLWAs. The situation is quite similar in regard to IV drug use, prostitution, and other activities commonly associated with AIDS. Many PLWAs also experience extreme social isolation due to their illness; because of the negative reactions of friends and family members, the seropositive person is often rejected by many members of their social entourage (Giblin, 1995; Bishop, et al. It was only after the highly publicized case of Ryan White that we saw the shift in attitudes and the formation of the innocent/deserving distinction (Giblin, 1995). On the other hand, homosexuals, IV drug users, the sexually promiscuous, and other "�deviants"tm are seen as deserving of the condition they are in when they contract AIDS. In fact, Bishop, Alva, Cantu, and Rittiman (1991) argue that this is a greater cause of stignatization than the association to deviant behaviour. As a result, a strong association has also been made between AIDS and people of color (Quam, 1990). This mentality leads to feelings of fear and hostility towards and a great lack of compassion for those who are incorrectly and irrationally deemed as being deserving of the disease. This is of particular pertinence to the field of social work due to our growing involvement with the HIV positive population. Some religious groups see AIDS as a punishment from God for sinful behaviour. In recent years, the media has started to make more accurate distinctions between homosexuality and AIDS, but messages are still mixed and often ambiguous. The Canadian Association of Social Workers (1990) reports that, "often the media has not distinguished between "�gay"tm and "�AIDS"tm, so that public understanding of homosexuality and AIDS has become enmeshed" (p.

AIDS: Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome HIV and Aids

AIDS

AIDS: Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome HIV and Aids affect more than roughly thirty million people worldwide. Race, sex and age have nothing to do with who can get this disease, however, the race with the highest number of infected people happens to be Caucasian males ages 25-44. About forty-five percent of the 641,000 AIDS cases in the U.S. have been white people. Blacks aren’t far behind with over 35 percent of cases, and Hispanics have about 20 percent of all cases. Asians have less than anyone does, with 1 percent. Of the estimated 30.6 million people worldwide living with this horrible, life-threatening disease in 1997, about 68 percent were living in sub-Saharan Africa. 22 percent of all cases were in Southe





There has not yet been a case attributed to kissing, however, there is still a potential for contraction. For example, although no one has actually contracts AIDS from contact with these things, HIV has been found in sweat, saliva and tears. Although condoms do work most of the time, they are not 100% effective. Bibliography Encarta 1999. They all have proved there is no cause to fear insects such as mosquitoes, because in HIV carriers don"tmt have constant high levels of HIV in their bloodstream. Scientists and researchers have preformed experiments after experiments because of the overwhelming concern. For awhile now there have been rumors of transmission by insects that suck blood and bite humans. They account for over 80 percent of all cases in the U. Adult males are the leading sex to contract AIDS. In 1994 and 1995 AIDS was the leading cause of death among Americans ages 25-44 years old. The truth is, the main way of getting this disease is unprotected sex. People who are unsure about the AIDS status of their partner should actually be weary of kissing them. (Encarta 99) People have been lead to believe so many fictional stories about the ways of contracting AIDS and HIV; it"tms hard to know what to believe. Another reason is that an insect mouth parts don"tmt hold large enough amounts of blood to transmit the disease.

AIDS AIDS, which stands for acquired immune

AIDS

AIDS, which stands for acquired immune deficiency syndrome, wasfirst discovered in 1981. However, it was not named untilseveral years later. It is thought that AIDS was present in theUnited States, Europe and Africa for at least ten years beforethe first cases were discovered in 1981. AIDS is a disease whichinvolves the breakdown of the immune system. The virus thatcauses this breakdown is known as HIV which stands for humanimmunodeficiency virus. When this virus enters a body, itinfects the bloods T cells where the virus grows. Slowly thevirus will kill these cells. Since these T cells aid in fightinginfection, as they are killed, the body is no longer able tofight away infection and is extremely susceptible to illness andinfections.1 AIDS is a disease that is becoming more and moreprevalent in society. The World Health Organization and theJoint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS estimate that,world-wide, forty two million people have been infected with HIVsince the onset of the epidemic in 1981. Each day an estimatedsixteen thousand people internationally become infected.2 HIV/AIDS can be transmitted through exchange of bodilyfluid; which includes unprotected sex, a mother’s breast milk,





HIV/AIDS also puts a huge strain on the nationaleconomy of African economies. Through AIDS we areable to see how society need to find a place to deposit blame andit did so on the gay community. There has been evidence that theseprograms can be a success. These seem to beeffective so far but their long term effectiveness is virtuallyunknown. San Francisco"tms bath houses sooncame under a microscope because they were thought of to be a mainsource of transmission. It is not possible to contract AIDS fromsharing drinks, animal/insect bites, touching, hugging ortouching. In random blood testingof pregnant women in Zimbabwe, between a fifth and a half werefound to have infected. You can haveHIV for years without any signs until you eventually have an AIDS related illness and by that time more people haveexponentially become effected by the disease. In Africa AIDS has become a leading cause of death. It was refered to as gay cancer and thegay plague. AIDS isnow very much a straight disease. Shouldone"tms longevity really be measured by how much money they have?Unfortunately that is how society works in this case and that iswhat we should aim for changing. Blood for transmission but advances in bloodscreening has more or less eliminated blood transfusion as a riskfor HIV/AIDS infection. It is necessary to take a global perspective concerning theissue of AIDS. Many doctors havebegun to use cocktail treatments which are a mix of differentmedications.

Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome A.I.D.S.

A.I.D.S.

Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome A.I.D.S., also known as Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, is a disorder ofthe body’s immune system. In A.I.D.S. the body stops producing some of its importantnatural defenses against disease. Victims often die from disease of infections they cannotfight. A.I.D.S is the result of an infection known as HIV, human immunodeficiencyvirus. A person with HIV gradually loses function of their immune system, becoming lessable to fight off common colds and virus, thus eventually leading to death. HIV was first revealed in the early 80’s in homosexual men. Infection with HIVdoes not necessarily mean that a person does have A.I.D.S. A person can be HIVpositive for years without developing illnesses that are associated with the A.I.D.S.disease. HIV is characterized by a gradual deterioration of the immune system. Cellsknown as T-Helper cells are disabled and killed during the course of the infection. Thesecells play an important part in the human body because they signal other cells to perform The AIDS epidemic is growing very rapidly among minority populations and is a





They think that it is spread like the common cold. People exposed to the virus should get an HIV test as soon as they are likely todevelop antibodies to the virus. Some symptoms that take place are: lack of energy, weight loss, frequent fevers andsweats, persistent or frequent yeast infections, persistent skin rashes and flaky skin, andshort term memory loss. Scientists also have foundno evidence that HIV is spread through sweat, tears, urine, or feces. But a few other companies are permitting their employeeswith AIDS to work part-time or from home if they can no longer come to the office. The Americans with Disability Act prohibits discrimination against people withdisabilities, including those with HIV. I think that AIDS is a disease that must be stopped immediately. Efforts to reduce discrimination must remain a priority, because people are still losing their jobs, are refused medical care , housing, and child care for their children. Once HIV enters the body it infects many cell and replicates itself rapidly. More and morepeople are dying from this disease everyday. HIV isnot spread by biting insects such as mosquitoes or bedbugs. AIDS is not contagious, this is what mostpeople fail to understand. One suchcancer is known as Kaposi"tms sarcoma. Almost all HIV infected children get the HIV virus from their mothers before orduring birth. Having a sexually transmitted disease such as syphilis, genital herpes, chlamydialinfection, gonorrhea, or bacterial vaginosis appears to make people more susceptible toacquiring HIV infection during sex with infected partners.

AIDS stands for Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome.

AIDS

AIDS stands for Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome. AIDS is one of the most fatal viruses in the nation. It is a serious public health concern in most major U.S. cities and in countries worldwide. Since 1986 there have been impressive advances in understanding of the AIDS virus, its mechanisms, and its routes of transmission. With AIDS being the leading cause of death among adults, individuals are now taking more precautions with sexual intercourse, and medical facilities are screening blood more thoroughly. A diagnosis of AIDS is made by a physician using specific clinical or laboratory standards. AIDS





Public concern is higher then it was 10 years ago, but that's because people are starting to realize that not everyone is immune to it, as of right now the only ones immune to the HIV virus are baboons. When the health objectives for 1990 were developed, AIDS had not entered the medical vocabulary. is caused by infection with a virus called human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The following are some of the agents that have been proposed as predisposing factors for HIV: alcohol, cocaine, heroine, morphine, marihuana, cigarette smoking, amphetamines, volatile inhalants like "poppers", environmental chemical pollutants, allergens, CMV, herpes virus type 1, 2, & 6, herpes zoster, EBV, adenovirus, retroviruses other than HIV, hepatitis A, B, & C viruses, papovavirus, mycoplasmas and other superantigens, tuberculosis, leprosy, malaria, trypanosomiasis, filariasis, other tropical diseases, sexually transmitted diseases, semen, blood, factor VIII, anxiety, depression, lack of sleep and rest, exhaustible exercise, unsanitary conditions, poverty, malnutrition, and several vitamin deficiencies. In addition, infected pregnant women can pass HIV to their babies during pregnancy or delivery, as well as through breast feeding. This virus is passed from one person to another through blood-to-blood and sexual contact. Some of these people will develop AIDS as a result of their HIV infection. By 1990, however, 128,319 AIDS cases had been reported in the United States, approximately one million Americans are infected. However, there are ways to prevent HIV, some of those ways are: abstinence, condoms, not sharing needles used for IV drugs. At this point in time there is no cure, nor is there a vaccination. People with HIV have what is called HIV infection. However, these statistics were from 1986, 11 years later it has grown to more, not just in homosexual and bisexual men, but also in heterosexual sexual intercourse. AIDS is the leading cause of death in homosexual, and bisexual adult men.

Friday, February 25, 2011

एड्स As the rooster crows

AIDs

As the rooster crows and the sun rises over the horizon, a mother in Africa knows it is time to wake up and start her day. She wakes up her children and lets them know the day has begun and it is time to start their chores. In America we learn that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but in Africa any meal the family can get is important. They begin their chores on an empty stomach, a common practice for this family of five since their father died last year from AIDS. The mother, earning less than a dollar a day, is barely able to feed her four children and she herself almost never has anything to eat (Hunter 28). Her children see her growing thinner and thinner as her health deteriorates at a rapid rate. She also is dying of AIDS and will most likely not live another six months. When she dies, her four children will be left alone to fend for themselves on the harsh and unforgiving streets of Africa. Most of them will die the same way their mother and father died if starvation and a host of many other diseases do not get to them first. This is the face of AIDS in Africa. These problems are all too common among households in Africa where the average life expectancy has dropped from sixty-five





If women, who act as mothers, aunts, grandmothers and caretakers for these children keep being the gender that is hit the hardest, there will be no one to guide the few remaining children who are healthy in the right direction. Sub-Saharan Africa has the largest population of people in poverty, two hundred twenty million people living without the resources needed to eat enough food in order to sustain a productive life (29). While gone, the men engage in acts of infidelity that their wives know nothing about. It is a disease that disables the immune system leaving the infected person open to catching any type disease. Some how, these women also need to be educated about AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases. The relationship between a man and a woman in a marriage, although baring some similarities, are still significantly different than what we are use to in America. With women dying off at such alarming rates, what happens to the children and the family structure in Africa and what factors are contributing to the rapid spread of AIDS among African women? AIDS is an acronym for autoimmune deficiency disease. Within the next two decades there will be an estimated forty million children orphaned by AIDS (4). It just seems that, for many different reasons, the women of sub-Saharan Africa are getting hit the hardest and the numbers do not seem to be letting up. The entire world is feeling the affects of AIDS, but no place has been hit harder than sub-Saharan Africa which now accounts for sixty-seven percent of the total number of infections worldwide (Hunt 354). Being uneducated is also putting their children"tms lives in danger. Women all over the world are at risk of this disease. With such a high number of them dying each year, there is no reason why they don not know how to protect themselves. In a country where many women believe they deserve a beating if dinner is not ready on time, one can only imagine how a husband would react if his wife asked him to wear a condom (41).

what is AIDS

what is AIDS

AIDS stands for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. It is not passed down from generation to generation through genes, but it is acquired. AIDS is a disease that attacks the immune system, a system that is vital in fighting off disease. This disease causes the immune system to be deficient, or weakened, so that it cannot properly fight off diseases because it is unable to produce white blood cells. AIDS is a syndrome or a group of illnesses with many possible symptoms that can occur together in a weakened condition. This disease is not localized in one specific area, its is found all over the world. (http://www.gmhc.org/basics/basics.html) AIDS is the most common and widespread deficiency disease known to mankind. It has already infected and killed millions of people worldwide. Its two viruses, named human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV-1 and HIV-2) are retroviruses that use RNA as its genetic material. When it invades a eukaryotic cell, a retrovirus “reverse transcribes” it’s RNA into DNA, which then directs the synthesis of more viruses, using the transcription and translation machinery of the cell. The HIV virus weakens the immune system by infecting and destroying helper T-cells, which are m





Current statistics indicate that there is about a 50% chance that an infected mother will produce an infected infant. It works by blocking the enzymes called reverse transcripts. HIV also develops resistance to these drugs when they are given singly. Whatever the solution AIDS must be stopped. As long as they are getting high, the idea of getting a disease doesn't cross their mind. It is not possible for a person to contract AIDS by casual contact. AIDS is now the leading killer of people aged 15 to 44 in this country. There are no cures for the AIDS virus but effective vaccine treatments developed in recent years have slowed but not stopped the process and helped patients live longer. HIV can be transmitted through vaginal secretions in women to men by way of the bloodstream. This is a method of AIDS transmission that the patient can do little about. If one is HIV positive it does not mean that a person has full-blown AIDS, and not everyone who gets HIV develops full-blown AIDS.

AIDS is the acronym used for Acquired

AIDS

AIDS is the acronym used for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. It isa disease transmitted through the blood. It is transmitted from person toperson through sexual intercourse, blood transfusions, IV drug users, andfrom mothers to babies during birth. AIDS is a disease which breaks downthe human immune system causing the body to become very open to toinfection. The disease is brought about by the HIV-1 virus. HIV-1( HumanImmune deficiency Virus) can remain dormant for years and then begins toattack the bodies T- cells and white cells which help fight off infection.Full-blown AIDS occurs when a person is in the last stages of his or herbattle for life. It is a fatal disease not because of the disease itself butbecause of the fact that other infections attack the body and it has no wayto recover from it. Full-blown AIDS is the stage of a person's life whentheir immune system has been completely destroyed. A person does notusually have any symptoms of the disease. That is that there are no realhints that a person is infected. There is no certain look to a person who isHIV-1 positive. They could be the person who lives next door or a completestranger that is seen passing by one the street. The patient





Whatever treatments are used, theymust be done while the patients immune systems are still in tact. This does not meanthat advances have not been made. Most of the research has been conductedby the CDC(Centers for Disease Control) and funded by the federalgovernment. Other Countries around the world have vast cases of infection fromthese viruses as well. As of 1990, women made upabout ten percent of infected Americans but the numbers keep on growing. One is that it is such a new disease. People began to think up new and bizarre ways that the disease could becontracted. Oneunprotected sexual intercourse can be the cause of the transmission of theHIV-1 virus. These ideas seemed outrageous a fewyears ago but today are not so far-fetched. AIDS is an epidemic that can not be cured but can be contained. The numbers of infectedheterosexuals in the United States is growing. There are also programs in effect toexchange used needles with clean ones so that IV drug users have less achance of contracting the disease. When treatment is stopped, the virus and all its symptoms reappear. The virus must somehow been contracted by heterosexualsfrom blood transfusions or needle sharing.

AIDS

AIDS

AIDS is said to be the plague of the twentieth century. After learning more about the virus in class I now agree with this statement. I have never personally known anyone who has been infected with AIDS. I am very grateful for this. It was not until my discussion class earlier this week that I realized how quickly that statement could change. In class we did an activity that shows how easily AIDS can be spread. It only takes one encounter to become infected. You can get HIV from anyone who's infected, even if they don't look sick, and even if they haven't tested positive yet. Not everyone who is infected know that they are infected, which is why it is important to know your partners sexual history before engaging in sexual actions with them. I believe that if you are





Unfortunately, many of them do not practice safe sex. Not only are you protecting yourself and your partner from HIV and AIDS, but you are also decreasing the risk of transmitting many other STDs. It is not worth risking your life for one night of unprotected sex. There are many simple ways to protect oneself from contracting the AIDS virus. Not only is the virus present in one"tms blood, but it is also found it other bodily fluids. I feel that wearing a condom during intercourse should not even be a question. AIDS is a fatal disease and no one sexual experience is worth risking your life for. To me, having protected or unprotected sex with someone who"tms past experiences you do not know, is taking a big risk. not comfortable enough with a person to ask them about their past sexual experiences, then you should not be having sex with them. It got this nickname because it can be contracted so easily and there is no cure for it. Since AIDS is a virus that is often contracted through sexual contact it can be spread very easily. AIDS really is the plague of the 20th century. Having only one partner also decreases your chances of becoming infected. AIDS and HIV is spreading exceptionally fast among young people in the United States.

AIDS and Alcohol

AIDS and Alcohol

According to the United States Department of Health and Human Services(1992), there are two reasons to investigate connections between alcohol,HIV infection, and AIDS: alcohol may have a negative effect on the immunesystem, and alcohol may trigger high-risk sexual behavior.Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is the cause of acquiredimmunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). HIV can be transmitted through sexualrelations with an infected individual, through exchange of infected bloodor blood products, or to a newborn from an HIV-positive mother.HIV-infected persons may have the virus for many years before clinicalsigns of disease appear. Eventually, HIV breaks down the body's immunesystem, mainly by damaging a class of white blood cells that areAs a result, people who have AIDS are in danger of developing lunginfections, brain abscesses, and a many other infections caused bymicroorganisms that usually do not produce disease in healthy people.People who have AIDS also are prone to cancers such as Kaposi's sarcoma, askin cancer rarely seen in non-HIV-infected populations. The diagnosis ofAIDS depends in part on the presence of one or many of these infections and





Currently, approximately 8 to 10 million people worldwide are infected withHIV. Theprognosis for persons with AIDS is nota positive one: AIDS-associatedmortality may approach 85 percent within 5 years of diagnosis. Decreasing alcohol use in people who have HIV orwho are at risk for becoming infected has been shown to reduce the spreadof HIV and the diseases it causes. While research is inconclusiveand cannot definitely link alcohol and AIDS, research raises seriousconcerns. Heavy alcohol consumption is alsoassociated with high-risk sexual practices. It is important to be aware that alcohol may increase the risk of AIDS. Although alcohol is not a means of transmission for HIV, it seems to playan indirect role by altering the sexual behavior of those under itsinfluence. In addition, studies show that people with HIVare more likely to abuse alcohol at some time during their lives(About. HIV concerns have increased as recent trends suggest a resurgence of theepidemic among homosexual men, as well as large increases in the proportionof cases transmitted through heterosexual relationships (About. There is a definite link between AIDS and alcohol because those who abusealcohol are more likely to engage in behaviors that place them at higherrisk for contracting HIV (About. At least 40,000new HIV infections are believed to occur among adults and adolescents, andan estimated 1,500 to 2,000 new HIV infections are thought to occur amongnewborns every year. In conclusion, researchers are constantly finding and testing appropriateinterventions for the behavioral, social, and biomedical problemsencountered by individuals with AIDS and alcohol problems. However, expectations about alcohol's effects may have a greater influenceon alcohol-involved sexual behavior.

A.I.D.S.

A.I.D.S.

There are not a lot of things that I know about AIDS but what I do know seems to be the basics. AIDS stands for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. Males and females can get it from sexual contact of many kinds. It was brought about from Africa about twenty years ago and was spread from males to females and vice-versa. I do not know all of the side affects of AIDS but I know that you eventually die from the virus. Babies can easily get the disease from their mothers if they have AIDS, because of then sharing their blood supply. And they usually do not live very long due to their bodies being attacked at such a young age they will not have a chance to build up an immune system. I would like to have a better understanding of what the virus is and how it affects your body. I want to know what you can do to prevent it and if there is anything you can do to lessen the pain and suffering. Basically, I would like to be more knowledgeable on the subject because it seems to be something that a lot of people have to deal with. I learned quite a few things from research. I know that about every one in ten people have AIDS. Mo





It is called ARC, which means AIDS Related Complex. You become very tired and weak, and you are not able to do some of the same things that you were able to do before you got the virus. If you have cuts on your hand it is best to put a glove on when you touch someone who has the virus. I had no idea that you could spread it or get it so easily. And usually you find out from a regular test from a doctor. I will use this as just a little bit of useful information that everybody should know. They can use that information and share it with whoever they please. There is a different type of "pre-AIDS"� disease that you can get. Most AIDS infected people have around two months to live after they are hospitalized from the severe side affects of the virus. And it was spread mostly by prostitutes. I learned that you can get tested for AIDS and it can be completely confidential. It started in Africa and mostly heterosexual males and females had it. For a while it was thought of as a "gay disease"�. If you want to get tested you need to go to a place where they only want to refer to you as a number.

AIDS

AIDS

A study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention(CDC) reported that as of the end of June 2001, there were 793,026 cases of AIDS in the USA. Of these 793,026 people; 79% were men, 21% were women, and 1% were children less than 13 years of age. AIDS(acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) is a fairly new disease to the US. The earliest cases were diagnosed in 1981. In 1981 the disease was thought to be limited to homosexual and bisexual men. It was called Gay-Related Immune Deficiency(GRID). No one really knows where the virus came from or when humans first became infected.





The virus is so fragile that common hand soap can kill it. The body of a person with AIDS cannot fight disease because the immune system is weak. It has been weakened by a virus called HIV, human immunodeficiency virus. People do not die from the AIDS virus directly, they die from complications of the AIDS virus. I hope all of this information helps you to understand the AIDS virus a little more and maybe a few less people will be infected. Because of the large amounts of AIDS cases in Central Africa, researches think that it originated there. It appears to be harmless to monkeys. Scientists found that 70 percent of the African green monkeys from Central Africa carried a virus similar to the one that causes AIDS in humans. The two most prominent ways of getting the HIV virus are from sexual intercourse and the sharing of unsterilized needles. Researchers say that the best way to prevent yourself from getting the AIDS virus is abstinence or monogamy, and not using any unsterilized needles. Jungle yellow fever and other viruses are known to be spread from monkeys to humans this way. Since monkeys are so always around humans in Central Africa monkeys frequently bite them. AIDS is a state in which the immune system is malfunctioning. HIV is actually quite hard to get. There is no cure the AIDS, however there are some management drugs that help HIV-positive people cope with the disease.

Thursday, February 24, 2011

AIDS

AIDS

I chose AIDS as my topic, because it is one of my biggest fears. I feel I need to educate myself so I have less chance of getting the virus. AIDS contaminates up to 900,000 people. 300,000 of the people that are infected don’t even know that they are. Though we know how AIDS works, we still don’t know what effect it will do to human kind in the future. What will happen in the future, and what can we do to stop it?Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome, or AIDS. It impairs the immune system to fight infections. AIDS is the final stage of an HIV infection. The time between infection with HIV and the development of an AIDS- defining condition is about ten years. As HIV reproduces, it destroys the body’s ability to defend itself by taking over the immune cells. This leaves the body defenseless against possible illnesses. Like all Viruses, HIV is a tiny and simple organism that is energized when it comes in contact with a living cell. When a HIV virus gets energized it can reproduce up to one billion copies of the virus in a single day!





Ÿ Also more than 90 percent of HIV transmission worldwide is from the transfer of bodily fluids between sexual partners through sexual intercourse. Vaccine Challenges:Existing treatments can cost up to tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars per person. Each and every one of us must be responsible and take every safety method into consideration. Scientist have been stressing that none of the vaccines have been able to protect the human cell. This stage occurs when the immune system is exhausted and incapable of producing sufficient CD4 lymphocytes to defend the body. Ÿ Transfer of bodily fluids, especially semen and vaginal fluids generated by sexual activity. Ÿ From mother to infant through inheritance or through breast-feeding. The future health of the world depends on it. Ÿ Swollen glands: enlarged lymph glands in the neck, groin, or armpit, which maybe sore or tender. Prevention, early detection, proper medical attention is all contributing factors to this epidemic are ways this virus could be controlled, until scientists can find a cure of AIDS. Ÿ Skin rash: itchy bumps our ulcers appearing anywhere on the body and often spreading. Did you know that AIDS could be transmitted by?Ÿ French kissing (rarely)Ÿ Taking in infected blood through unspecialized surgical instruments or needles. The HIV virus has different stages. Ÿ Diarrhea: occur several times daily, and can last up to several months.

aids

aids

The definition of aids is a serious (often fatal) disease of the immune system transmitted through blood products especially by sexual contact or contaminated needles. The United States has been hit, and has been a huge victim, of the HIV/Aids virus. But more importantly our whole world has been hit. Although in the United States there has been many dead victims, our numbers don’t even come close to the areas such as south Africa, and the Sub- Sahara region of Africa. This is the case because they live in poverty, and in dirty areas. The final reason is because of the many people living there and of the pregnancies taking place. Many years ago when Aid was first hitting the service, the people mainly affected by Aids were the white homosexual males. This is no longer the case. Now many the people in the United States most affected are the black and Hispanic, people. This is partially to do with poverty, and because of their upbringing. In 2002 studies say Adult HIV/AIDS prevalence worldwide is now put at 1.2





They would want to go to a doctor"tms office, to get tested. Aids is a virus that will never stop until there is a physical pill, or treatment that can help people. If a person is nocuous, they might want to get tested or if they felt they did something, that could have given them aids. These days there are many people and there are many teenagers that are having unprotected sex. There are many excuses for why this might be the case, maybe because of education, or maybe not caring about the consequence. In numbers about 4 to 1, not great odds but better than no odds at all. In the future the virus should only get worst, In theory it should eventually take over the entire race, if the world doesn"tmt come together and share everyone"tms knowledge. Although I do not believe in what the future will bring to us, for cures. Aids/HIV was not a treat to the people of 50 years ago because how they acted and there manner. But the people of our times should not count on it, but to learn, and to know not to have unpredicted sex. We need to not only share and help the people of the United States, but to travel and to discuss what a harmful virus to other people in other countries. This is the case because how our country/world is as a whole. When you take many pills or a medicine cocktail, it might ease the pain but give many more hangs up to go all with the pills.

History of HIV AIDS

History of HIV AIDS

When did you first hear about HIV/AIDS? The history of HIV AIDS is still being understood. Most Americans became aware of the epidemic in the 1980s, but recent scientific research has found the Human Immunodeficiency Virus began infecting African communities between the late 1800s and the early 1900s. The virus then found in Haiti by the 1960s. HIV in the American injecting drug and Gay communities of the United States is first recorded in 1981.

In the epidemic’s beginning, there was seldom an opportunity for most Americans to understand the difference between HIV and AIDS, simply because people were often in the acute stages of AIDS before they sought help. In the mid 1980s, a test was created to identify HIV, which helped the scientific world to better understand its transmission. As a result, the definition of AIDS shifted in 1993 from an official diagnosis because of specific opportunistic diseases, to also include HIV positive individuals whose CD4 T-Cell counts had fallen below 200.

New drug treatments, called highly active antiretroviral therapy, or HAART, became available in 1996. This drastically reduced the death rate of people who carried the virus. With the availability of the new medications, the difference between HIV and AIDS became more important, because an increasing number of individuals living with HIV were no longer advancing into a diagnosis of AIDS. In some cases, the Human Immunodeficiency Virus became undetectable when treated with HAART medications.

In 2009, most Americans no longer think of AIDS as an “automatic death sentence” the way it was frequently seen before the HAART medications. Then there is a younger generation who “grew up” with an awareness of AIDS, but who were not taught about the incredible AIDS stigma that had existed previously.

For example, a primary American financial source for HIV/AIDS related programs owes its title to Ryan White, an adolescent who was expelled from his school when he was found to have contracted HIV from a blood transfusion. Individuals from his community fired gunshots into the home of his family, forcing them to move away. Historians have suggested that since Ryan White did not match the stereotype of a Person with AIDS, he was later accepted in a more supportive manner than if he had been a Gay man, or an injecting drug user. Part of the AIDS stigma is related to perceiving a difference between those who are infected as a result of their own behavior, and those that were so-called “innocent victims,” who were infected as something outside of their behavior. An example would be a child infected with HIV from his pregnant mother, or someone like Ryan White, a hemophiliac infected as the result of a blood transfusion.

The AIDS stigma, however, remains part of the reality in other cultures. The United Nations recently reported: “People in China living with HIV and AIDS face widespread discrimination and stigma, with even medical workers sometimes refusing to touch them… more than 40 percent of people surveyed in a new UNAIDS report said they had been discriminated against because of their HIV status. More than one-tenth said they had been refused medical care at least once.” (Beijing-Reuters, November 27, 2009)

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

AIDS

AIDS

Being one of the most fatal viruses in the world, AIDS (AcquiredImmunodeficiency Syndrome) is now a serious public health concern in most majorCanadian and American cities and in countries worldwide. Since 1986 there have beenimpressive advances in understanding of the AIDS virus. Even though researchers haveput in countless hours, and millions of dollars it has not led to a drug that can cureinfection with the virus or to a vaccine that can prevent it. With AIDS being the leadingcause of death among adults, individuals are now taking more precautions with sexualintercourse, and medical facilities are screening blood more thoroughly. HIV ( HumanImmunodeficieny Virus) can be transmitted through sharing of non sterilize needles andsyringes, sexual intercourse, blood transfusion, and through most bodily fluids, it is nottransmitted through casual contact or by biting or blood sucking insects. AIDS is a complicated illness that may involve several phases. It is caused by a virus thatcan be passed from person to person. AIDS impairs the human body's immune system thesystem responsible for warding off disease and leaves the victim susceptible to variousinfections. AIDS was first conclusively identified in the United St
Blood tests candetect these antibodies and therefore can indicate exposure to the virus. Practicing safe sexmeans either participating only in a monogamous, or mutually exclusive, relationship inwhich both people are free of HIV infection, or using latex condoms whenever engagingin intercourse. Within a decade the disease hadspread to virtually all populated areas of the world. It is believed that HIV was introduced to theseareas in the early the mid-1980s. "�Comptons Interactive Encyclopedia Detection and treatment. In somepeople the virus may remain inactive, and these people act as carriers, remainingapparently healthy but still able to infect others. There are no known cases of AIDS transmission by insects suchas mosquitoes or by domestic animals. "AIDS is defined as a disease, at least moderately predictive of defects in cell-meditated immunity, occurring in a person with no known cause for diminished resistanceto that disease. At this point in time there is no cure, or is there avaccination. Its symptoms may include fever, fatigue, weightloss, skin rashes, a fungal infection of the mouth known as thrush, lack of resistance toinfection, and swollen lymph nodes. Unlike T lymphocytes, macrophages are notkilled by the virus. Usually, when the AIDS virus enters the bloodstream, thebody's immune system produces antibodies to battle the microorganism. Public concern is higher then it was 15years ago, but that's because people are starting to realize that not everyone is immune toit, as of right now the only ones immune to the HIV virus are baboons. Afterresearchers discovered in the late 1980s that there were several forms of the AIDS virus,the original virus was renamed the human immunodeficiency virus type 1, orHIV-1. However, these statistics were from 1986, 11 yearslater it has grown to more, not just in homosexual and bisexual men, but also inheterosexual sexual intercourse.

Aids in the U.S.

Aids in the U.S.

AIDS is a major concern here in the United States, as well as it is around the world. Geographers are researching the spread of HIV/AIDS throughout the world. In the world approximately twenty one point eight million have died from either disease, and another thirty-six point one million are currently infected with HIV/AIDS. Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is caused by the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). Most cases of HIV/AIDS were found in the homosexual community and intravenous drug users. HIV has been traced back to where it originated in Africa. It isn’t completely proven, but scientists believe that African hunters got it from monkeys. Most likely the African butchers encountered it from cross-transmission of blood from animal populations. AIDS had stayed in Africa for a long time, it wasn’t until rural to urban migration and trade routes spread the virus throughout sub-Saharan Africa to East Africa. Several things had contributed to the spread of Aids in Africa. First of all, it widely spread when a great deal of African men had to leave their wife’s and families to find jobs. All these men were were living in male only hostels in mines, plantations an





Prostitution quickly spread AIDS amongst the men. Scientists are coming up with many new vaccines to help prevent AIDS or HIV. In Africa men are dominant, so women cannot control when and with whom they have sex with. Maybe some day they will be able to find a cure for it. Many AIDS programs demanded that the government donate funds to the prevention of AIDS programs. This is new and state of the art technology, and the best part is that it is actually quite simple and is inexpensive. Hopefully technology can stop or at least slow the spread of AIDS/HIV down. In the Western Hemisphere, some of the first countries to be infected with HIV were Haiti and others surrounding. The only down side to this type of drug is that it is still fairly new, so we don"tmt know the long term side affects are yet, and at this stage it is extremely expensive. Then when the men would go back home to visit the family, the spread would increase. Another way to obtain AIDS was by poverty, famine, war, and many other ways. Scientists are coming up with new vaccines to stop these diseases from spreading.

Aids

Aids

A mysterious epidemic spread throughout the country in a matter of years. A virus unknown to mankind, leaving a brutal vestige, killing millions of people. Researchers at first were not aware of the dangers this virus had on the people of the world. The virus known as AIDS, has become the deadliest virus in the world. Many people do not understand or know what the AIDS virus is. Understanding, learning, and talking about AIDS gives people knowledge of what the virus is and does. “AIDS is the most serious communicable disease epidemic in contemporary times, and the effort to reduce its spread is the U.S. government's top health priority“, stated Harlon L. Dalton in his book AIDS And The Law. AIDS stands for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. Acquired meaning something one can get or obtain. Immune meaning safe or protected. Deficiency meaning a lack or shortage of something, and Syndrome meaning a group of symptoms or problems. In other words, a disease one can contract that attacks the immune system. As Hancock and Carim stated in Aids the Deadly Epidemic, “ AIDS is a multiple disease caused by a particular kind of virus that works in two main ways. The virus undermines, on the one hand, the body’s in-b





efences against alien organisms, rendering it vulnerable to a wide range of infections, and, on the other hand, it attacks cells of the central nervous system and of the brain. Mobilizing Against AIDS: The Unfinished Story of a Virus by Eve Nichols reported, " The Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta has received notification of AIDS cases from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and three U. When AIDS first spread throughout the United States, a very large percentage of individuals infected were homosexual. No one really knows how many future cases the AIDS epidemic will bring to the world. The only way AIDS can be transmitted from an infected person to one who is not infected is by one, exchange of bodily fluids, or two, sexual intercourse. " (Douglas and Pinsky 13) HIV is the first stage of the AIDS virus. Diana Richardson explained the symptoms of AIDS, in her book Women and AIDS, as profound fatigue, unexplained fever, unexpected weight loss, swollen glands, Thrush, persistent diarrhea, shortness of breath, and pink or purple blotches on the skin. He did not know where to turn or what to do. It will not be easy, but help is available. Inside the immune system are T cells, T helper cells, and B cells which make up the white blood cells. "� There is no conclusive evidence linking the origin of AIDS with Africa.