Children with HIV in the United States - Research Paper Example

Children with HIV in the United s Over the 25 years history of AIDS, children have been the mute victims of it. In the United s, nearly 4000 children are affected with HIV virus. Most effective preventive measures can be taken by getting the real picture of the mode of transmission of virus to children. This study tries to find out the most prevailing cause for transmission of virus to children in the United States of America, thus contributing to the on going efforts to control the spread of this epidemic all over the world. A fact still remains that there are cultural and social constraints which do affect when doing such a research. The advanced HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) infection in a human body makes the body susceptible to opportunistic infections which threaten life. That condition of a body diagnosed is the decease of AIDS which stands for Acquired Immune Deficiency syndrome. Looking back to the history of AIDS we can see that it entered to the United States in about 1969, through a virus infected immigrant from Haiti. In the early 1980s, doctors realized a new cancer found in men who had sex with men and it was called 'gay cancer' colloquially. Later on the medical community got evidences of the decease spreading among men, women and even in the new born babies. In 1982 the Centre for Decease Control and Prevention (CDC) renamed the decease as AIDS. As per the UNAIDS Statistics as of 2005, the total number of HIV affected people living in the US is 1,200,000. A dangerous fact being that nearly 21% of the affected people are unaware of their infection. The CDC estimates the total number of deaths of persons with AIDS in the United States of America ever since it began is more than 583,000 which includes 4891 children under the age 13. It is shocking to see that nearly 56300 Americans gets infected with HIV every year. African Americans make up nearly 50 % of the total HIV affected population in US also they make more than 50 % of new HIV infected population every year. According to the latest available data from CDC, HIV infection is the seventh important reason for child death under 14 years of age, in the United States. . It is apparent that HIV and AIDS is not just a health related issue, it is a complex issue having social, economic, cultural and regional dimensions. The United States which is composed of states and other political subunits has different political, economic and welfare policies which reflects in the dealing of HIV and AIDS also. The communities which are smaller in the sub national jurisdictions are not uniform in their cultural and social behavior. So the spread, the impact and the responses to the impacts have different dimensions. When the statistics show that there are over 1 million infected people in US, the number is corresponding to that much or more lives in US suffering the blame, grief and depression due to the HIV. The effect of infection in an individual may not bring an immediate change in the society and the nation as in his family, but an accumulation of many such cases slowly affect the society and the nation. It is a shocking fact the number of children who had lived HIV infected since 2007 from the start of this epidemic is nearly 3.8 million. As quoted by the website JAMA 'Approximately 14920 HIV-infected infants were born in the United States between 1978 and 1993. Approximately 6530 HIV-infected women gave birth in the United States in 1993; an estimated 1630 of their infants were HIV infected.' In 2007 the HIV affected children living in US is nearly 4000. According to CDC statistics as per 1998 top rates of children infected with HIV among the US cities were New York City, Miami, Florida, Newark and New Jersey. As per the statistics available with the website of UNICEF, 'In 2008, 730,000 childrenunder 15 years of age were estimated to be living with HIV and in need of treatment; 38per cent were receiving treatment'. 132 million children in the developing world have lost one or both parents. 25 million children will be orphaned by HIV/AIDS alone by the year 2010. When the bread winner of a family fall as a victim of AIDS, all members starts suffering hardships; among them that of children is the most important. Naturally a major portion of a family's income goes for medical expenses and the children become helpless to meet their needs. As a result of less income and timely health care children become vulnerable to malnutrition and illness. Children of AIDS affected parents have to take care of the sick people in the family, in addition to this the economic constrains will prompt them to discontinue their schools. An affected parent may not be able to give the caring and affection to their child which is essential for their emotional development. When they know their parents or one of them is infected with virus they feel insecure and will be having a fear of losing their parents. Due to the general misunderstanding about the spread of this decease, children feel like isolated and discriminated even if they are in the family surroundings. In the absence of parents, children easily get exposed to sex exploitation and child labor which in turn is at the risk of contracting HIV. The statistics being like this, a research on mode of transmission of HIV virus to children in the United States needs much more information. For collecting the required data for this research, the methods adapted were online searching and doing a sample survey among 100 people through online. Collection of data was mainly from online sources which included authentic websites of UNICEF, WHO, CDC and many other Public Health Organizations. Among the 100 questionnaires circulated 98 % received back with answers to be compiled. First an outline was prepared for doing the research. Data was collected from internet sources corresponding to that outline. The data collected from different sources were analyzed with the help of online research help sites. For conducting the sample survey after preparing a questionnaire it was circulated to the recipients through mail. Following is the questionnaire used for sample survey. QUESTIONNAIRE 1 Do you know the difference between HIV and AIDS Yes No Not very much 2. Do you know the percentage of women among the HIV affected people 19% 46% 74% 3. What do you think as the most prevailing reason for transmission of HIV From Unprotected sex From used needles and injections From Blood and other organs donation 4. What do you think as the most prevailing mode of transmission of virus to children From mother during the perinatal period Sexual exploitation by the infected people Spread from parents or other family members. 5. Do you think an infected woman can deliver an uninfected baby Yes No Yes, by using antiretroviral drug for mother and baby. 6.Do you know approximately how many people are infected with HIV world wide 33.5 million 25 million 42 million 7.Can insects transmit HIV Yes No Only mosquitoes 8. The most infected population falls in which age group category 0-14 years old 15-24 years old 25-34 years old 9. Do you think breast feeding is a mode of transmission of HIV from mother to baby Yes No Do not know 10.What are the specific symptoms of AIDS A rash from head to toe Drowsiness, head ache There are no specific symptoms of AIDS After receiving back the questionnaire, the important questions from the point of view of this search was scrutinized and could find that the results found through the online searching is matching with the result of the sample survey which is described below. The work schedule for the research was divided into three periods for convenience. The first period was dedicated to make an outline of what to do. Second period was for collection of data from online sources. Preparing the questionnaire and sending to the respondents. Third period comprised of analysis of the data, checking the data received back through mail, comparing these two available data for arriving at conclusions and finally for presenting the results. There are many ways of transmission of HIV virus from a person to another. The most common one is by unprotected sex with an infected person. By sharing needles or syringes used by an infected person is another reason. Transmission through blood donation is also a cause, but in the United States, all required tests are compulsorily done before donation thus minimizing such transmission incidence. Another way is form a mother to child during the perinatal period. An infected woman may pass the virus to her child during pregnancy, labor, and delivery or by breast feeding. According to UNAIDS (the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS); 19.2 million women are living with HIV/AIDS throughout the world. A fact being that the number of new infected women is going up in many countries than the other categories. The major source of transmission of HIV virus to children is mother - to - child transmission briefly called as MTCT. According to UNAIDS estimation, around 15 to 30 % of babies born to HIV infected woman who are not medically treated, get infected during pregnancy and delivery and another 5 to 20 % get infected through breast feeding. As per the WHO statistics, 'only 46% of pregnant women are screened for HIV. Among who found HIV positive only 54 % receive antiretroviral medication to prevent vertical transmission. But still it is good news that In the United States vertical transmission rates of new born babies are fortunately coming down than the early years. Another important matter is that the new born HIV infected infants in the 10 year back statistics have now entered into the data of adolescents' category. Many of the adolescents and young adults fall pray for AIDS by doing unprotected sex and sharing drug injections. It is unfortunate that new HIV infected people continue to increase in this category. In this decade through sex education and AIDS awareness programs, there is world wide recognition of the disaster of MTCT. Many high income countries including United States are on the way to virtual elimination of MTCT. Effective medical testing and counseling help infected women to avoid unwanted pregnancies and to take right decisions about their reproductive lives. Benefiting from the antiretroviral therapy and adopting safe delivery practice of opting caesarian delivery if the HIV blood level is high, will help to prevent the vertical transmission to new born babies. Opting for a caesarian session after proper medical treatment will reduce the chance of infection to baby by less than 2 %. During breast feeding; virus is transmitted to the baby through her breast milk. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that, in countries such as the United States, where infant formula is safe and is often available and affordable, HIV-infected women feed their infants commercially available formula instead of breastfeeding. Infection of HIV to children through vertical transmission can be curbed through proper and timely medical treatment to mother and baby. World wide efforts are ongoing to prevent spreading of HIV virus. It is apparent among the medical community that vertical transmission can be minimized to almost zero level by effective awareness programs and medical support. In the under developed countries only a small percentage of infected mothers are taking medical treatment. The AIDS relief organizations and related authorities should aim these mothers to make them aware of the adversity they are transferring to their infants. When medical care is provided to these mothers as in the developed countries, the rate of infected infants will come down globally. Prevention of mother- to -child transmission (PMTCT} should be treated as a program of foremost concern globally. Relief efforts shall propagate the idea of avoiding unintended pregnancies among HIV infected women. All the needed medical care and moral support shall be made available to all infected mothers during their pregnancy period and after the birth of the infant. They should be made aware of the negative points of breast feeding and should be guided to choose better alternatives. Above all, all the ventures across the world which aims for relief of HIV/AIDS should move forward united for an AIDS free Global morning, Works cited CDC. Department of Health and Human Services. Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, 6July 2010. Web. 16 July 2010. www.nichd.nih.gov. National Institute of child health and human development, 7 July 2010. Web. 19 July 2010. AIDS Action committee of Massachusetts, 2010. Web. 17 July 2010. Avert.org. Averting HIV and AIDS, 14 July 2010. Web. 17 July 2010. www.wikipedia.com The free Encyclopedia, 12 July 2010. Web. 17 July 2010. www.nap.edu. The National academies Press, 2010. Web. 17 July 2010. www.unicef.org. Unite for children, 21 July 2009. Web. 18 July 2010 www.JAMA. The journal of the American Medical Association, 2010. Web. 18 July 2010. www.paho.org. Pan American Health Organization, WHO 2010. Web. 18 July 2010. www.globalactionforchildren.org 2005. Web. 18 July 2010 Read More