The Impact of HIV and AIDS - Essay Example

HIV/AIDS: The Global Epidemic Grade Year HIV/AIDS: The Global Epidemic Introduction HIV the overwhelming epidemic is thought to cost the world millions of lives and several billions of dollars every year. Although it has been a social burden to all nations since its discovery in the early 1980s, the disease is highly endemic in African regions. Many of the countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia also spend significant portion of their health budget on fighting HIV. Although the world has succeeded to control the disease to a great extent, in many parts of the world the epidemic has caused severe socio-economic impacts on the inhabitants regardless of their age or sex. HIV/AIDS has been considered as a serious health issue for the past three decades. However, now it has turned to be a major ‘developmental catastrophe’ that would dismantle all achievements of the past half century. (World Bank, p.1) HIV and AIDS Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that causes Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS). Although the terms HIV and AIDS are used interchangeably, all HIV carriers do not necessarily develop symptoms for many years. Human Immunodeficiency Virus weakens the immune system and allows external substances, virus, or bacteria attack the human body. Once the immune system of the person is weakened, he/she becomes susceptible to multiple diseases. The HIV can be present in the bodily fluids such as blood, semen, vaginal fluid, and breast milk. The infection usually affects the internal body parts like lungs, central nervous system, and gastrointestinal system. (Griffith, Moore, Yoder & Pederson, 2006, p.381). Symptoms As mentioned earlier, the victim may or may not show symptoms at the initial stage of HIV infection. It depends on the health and habits of the individual how soon the infection may progress to AIDS. In the same way, many of the initial symptoms might be misdiagnosed as flu or other mild illnesses. Therefore, identifying the infection is not easy unless the person undergoes specific medical tests and diagnosis. However, there are certain symptoms in common such as fever, headache, muscle and joint pain, sore throat, and diarrhea. In addition to these initial symptoms acute fatigue, weight loss, respiratory and skin infections, swollen lymph glands, genital changes, night sweats, mouth sores and acute diarrhea also might make the patient’s condition highly repulsive. (Griffith et al, 2006, p.381). HIV Tests There are varieties of tests to identify whether an individual is infected with HIV. The first type of tests includes HIV antibody test, P24 antigen test, and PCR test. The other types of tests are conducted if infection is once identified. CD4 test and viral load test belong to this category. Among these tests, antibody test is the most inexpensive and accurate one. (Avert.org). However, experiments have been going on to develop new methods for HIV test in order to make it accessible to all. There are several people who do not have access to HIV test due to the high cost of current medical tests and treatment. HIV Transmission HIV/AIDS can be averted to a great extent because unlike other contagious diseases, HIV’s routes of transmission are rather limited. As it has been identified so far, unsafe sexual contact with an infected person is the major cause of HIV transmission. The spread is exceedingly rampant among the communities in which people maintain more than one partner. Likewise, as compared to common groups, HIV infection is rather high among gay communities and lesbians. For instance, in America male to male sexual contact is said to be the major cause of HIV infection. Around 48% of the total infected individuals belong to this category (Avert.org). Obviously sexual contact with an HIV infected person (either homosexual or heterosexual) is always a risk. In fact, any activity that causes direct exposure to secretions of the infected person may allow virus transmission. As blood and semen have high concentration of HIV, unprotected sex and drug abuse (sharing of needles, and syringes) can possibly lead to HIV infection. However, people who indulge in risk sexual practices (vaginal, oral or anal) and drug sharing often do not realize that they are HIV carriers or the part of a high risk group. In addition to sexual contact and sharing, perinantal transmission is also one of the major causes of HIV/AIDS. It happens as the virus being transmitted from an infected mother to fetus at the time of pregnancy or even later at the time of birth from HIV mother to her baby. This is one of the most unfortunate aspects of HIV infection that question the moral perspectives of the modern world. Millions of HIV/AIDS infected children are born and left to the benevolence of fate every year. HIV can not infect a person unless it enters his/her bloodstream; and often it occurs during sexual act through an open cut or sore in genitals or through other mucous membranes. Blood transfusion is another possible cause of HIV infection. However, HIV infection through blood transfusion is considerably reduced as all blood products donated and used are strictly screened for HIV. The causes of HIV transmission can be summarized as follows; sexual contact with infected person, homosexual practices, sharing contaminated needles, transfusion of blood or organs, children born to HIV mothers, and accidental needle injury etc. (Griffith et al, 2006, p.381). HIV/AIDS Statistics According to the statistics of World Health Organization (2008), globally 33.4 million people were living with HIV in 2008. The total number of adults exceeded 31.3 million in which the number of women was around 15.7 million. It also included 2.1 million children below 15 years old. (WHO/UNAIDS). In the same way, 2.7 million people were believed to be newly infected with HIV in 2008 among which 2.3 million were adults, and 430 000 children under 15 years. The number of AIDS deaths occurred in 2008 also shows the persisting threat of the epidemic. According to the WHO statistic, 2.0 million people died due to AIDS in 2008 with 280 000 children and 1.7 million adults. (WHO/UNAIDS). The statistics of the recent years reveal that the disease is still uncontrollable especially in regions like Sub-Saharan Africa where majority of adults are infected with HIV. Although in the early 1980s it was considered as the disease of youth, the growing number of child and elderly HIV infections has compelled the world to design rather holistic approach to address HIV/AIDS. Thus recently it has turned to be a multifaceted global concern rather than a major health issue of any regional significance. HIV/AIDS Treatment Although various efforts have been initiated to invent a proper vaccine to combat HIV, none of them was successful. The latest among them was the failure of the experiment conducted in Thailand in 2009. The absence of an effective vaccine is the dreadful aspect that makes the disease highly dangerous. Moreover, ‘once a person is infected with HIV, he/she is infected for life’ (World Bank) because the natural immunity gets damaged and antibodies will not work against HIV. The only favorable (?) condition is that the virus is asymptomatic for several years. Therefore, if the infection is diagnosed at an early stage, under proper care and regular medication the infected individual can continue healthy life preventing the virus from causing AIDS. To illustrate, the treatment given to HIV patients is not in fact a cure but only certain measures that may stop people from growing ill. This treatment is termed as HIV antiretroviral treatment. This is the application of numerous drugs in order to control the amount of HIV in the body at a low level. These drugs would also stop further damage of immune system or help recover from damage. The use of single drug will not be effective because HIV will take resistance against the drug. (Avert.org). In addition to medication, the patient has to be provided with nutritious diet and frequent medical checkup. There are various challenges that impede the invention of HIV vaccine. Initially, many of the developing countries have confronted with serious financial challenges on their HIV/AIDS experiments. As it is stated in Quadros C A. (2004, pp. 189-191), there are certain logistic challenges like the ‘complexities of conducting multiple human trials’, the variance in immune response of the infected individuals, and the genetic variability of HIV virus. Since an array of HIV subtypes are identified, scientists are unsure whether specific vaccines will be required for each subtype. (Quadros C A., 2004, pp. 189-191). Preventive Measures As mentioned earlier, HIV infection occurs only if the virus enters one’s body through direct blood transfusion or by other mucus membranes. Therefore preventing HIV transmission is easy provided that individuals follow safe sexual practices and other medical instructions. People should be encouraged to verify their HIV status before marriage or sexual relationship. Moreover, one should avoid sexual contact with a stranger whose HIV history is unknown. Although the use of condoms has been cherished, as majority of the social workers believe, keeping single partner would be the best method to prevent infection. Unlike other contagious diseases, HIV infection can be resisted. Moreover, “HIV infection is not the progressive fatal illness it was in the 80s and early 90s. With the right treatment HIV is now a chronic manageable disease” (Gallant, 2008, p.2). Obviously HIV awareness programs and campaigns have brought about considerable positive results. Today one can not possibly get infected with HIV through blood transfusion or transplantation. In order to avert HIV infection almost all healthcare organizations strictly follow blood screening; and ensure that their instruments are being sterilized before each use. The reuse of needles or syringes is strictly prohibited by law. However, there can be exceptional situations when organizations/individuals make mistakes. Only if HIV infected women prevent pregnancy, the world can control the growing number of child HIV cases. In this context, sex within married life also becomes a controversial subject. Contraception is the sole answer that medical science can contribute to this issue. However, due to cultural and religious barriers use of contraceptives has several limitations. Moreover contraceptives like condoms do not always prevent pregnancy. HIV infected women are advised to use contraception not only to avoid pregnancy but also to avoid the risk of transmitting HIV. In addition, the continual sexual exposure of an already infected person can worsen health by getting further infections. (McLachlan, Morrison & Bury, 1992, p.50). Therefore, contraceptives are supposed to prevent re-infection and progression of disease. However, according to many experts, condoms can not be relied as an effective preventive method. The effectiveness of condoms depends on its quality, correct use, and absolutely no chance of bursting. However, according to Dr. Dixon (2002, p.39), condoms with poor quality can have up to seven out of ten with holes in them. He also reminds that a condom can get tear off, roll off, burst, and can even get leaked at the time of intercourse. Therefore, condoms do not necessarily prevent pregnancy or HIV infection. Another argument against the promotion of condom is that the governmental policies have conveyed a false message to youth that a condom could be the adequate precaution against HIV. This approach in the long run would produce negative results and dismantle the moral perspectives of the entire world. The proponents of this view ask whether people should be encouraged to use condoms to indulge in multiple sexual relationship or they should be persuaded to make love only with their single permanent partner. HIV/AIDS and Social Issues HIV causes wide range of socio-economic and ethical issues all over the world. Even today HIV/AIDS infected individuals confront with numerous tribulations including social barriers and discrimination. HIV has been considered as the disease of perverts like gay, lesbian groups and drug addicts. Although the disease persists among people of all age, sex, and class including new born babies, the general attitude of people toward HIV patients has not been changed much. HIV victims are always being run off by the community and are left to great depression and seclusion. HIV is often termed as ‘Silent Killer’ because the virus could be transmitted to others before a person recognizes that he is infected. To illustrate, if ten people in a society died of AIDS, probably between 250 and 1000 people in the same community might be carrying the virus (Dixon, 2002, p.22). The asymptomatic feature of the virus is perhaps the most difficult side of the HIV combat. An infected person probably transmits the virus to some others within a few months. Subsequently, as the number of infected people doubles the problem grows into an unsolvable societal issue. “The multigenerational aspect of this disease makes HIV/AIDS particularly devastating for both the nuclear and extended family affecting the viability and stability of whole communities.” (Catalen, Sherr L. & Hedge B., 1997, p.149). HIV & Contraception; Religious Perspectives Although various religions have initiated their own HIV control and rehabilitation programs, they are sceptical of the promotion of condoms and other contraceptives. For instance, Catholic Church is against all sorts of contraceptive measures including condoms, and pills; because Church believes that all artificial methods are evil and are against the natural law. Therefore, religious concept on birth control and contraception often goes against some of the HIV control measures. However, the religious control in the area of sexuality has some positive aspects too. Most of the religions teach that sex is exclusively for reproductive purpose and can be performed only within married life. Recently, the HIV explosion has intensified the religious control over sexuality. (Bisen P S., Tiwari R P., Bharmal R N. & Karthikeyan S., 2007 p.63). In fact this idea of sexual loyalty is not solely proposed by religions. World Health Organization also suggests people to be faithful in their sexual life. “The most effective way to prevent transmission is to abstain, or for two uninfected individuals to be faithful to one another. Alternatively, the correct use of condom may reduce the risk significantly.” (Dixon, 2002, p.16). Hence, promotion of contraceptives is not the actual HIV prevention strategy of the WHO but only some alternatives to reduce the risk. Since HIV is an exceedingly significant global issue, religions need to review some of their concepts on contraception. The use of contraceptives/condom is relevant if at least it prevents re-infection or pregnancy. Conclusion HIV/AIDS is the global epidemic that has been tormenting the world since the early 1980s. HIV is a retrovirus that gradually weakens human immune system and causes AIDS. More than 33.4 million people are living with HIV and around 2 million die of AIDS. (WHO/UNAIDS). One of the significant features of the disease is that it can be transmitted only through direct contact of bloodstream with any of the bodily fluids or secretions such as blood, semen, vaginal fluid, and breast milk. The medical science has not yet succeeded to develop an effective vaccine to fight this pandemic. Currently HIV patients are given antiretroviral treatment which would control the progression of the disease. The old saying “prevention is better than cure” is literarily apt to HIV/AIDS. Since HIV infection can never be cured, people must ensure that their sexual relationships are safe. As the disease has grown to be a major developmental issue, collaborative effort is essential to address this pandemic. References Bisen P S., Tiwari R P., Bharmal R N. & Karthikeyan S. (2007). HIV and AIDS: Basic Elements and Priorities. Springer. Catalen J., Sherr L. & Hedge B. (Eds.). (1997). The Impact of AIDS: Psychological and Social Aspects of HIV Infection. Harwood Academic Publishers. Dr. Dixon P. (2002). AIDS and You. Revised edn. 3. Operation Mobilization, ACET International Alliance & Kingsway. Gallant J E. (2008). 100 Questions & Answers about HIV and AIDS. Jones & Bartlett Publishers. Global Summary of the HIV/AIDS Epidemic, December 2008. WHO, UNAIDS. Retrieved Nov. 26, 2009 from http://www.who.int/hiv/data/2009_global_summary.gif Griffith H W., Moore S., Yoder K. & Pederson M. (2006). Complete Guide to Symptoms, Illness and Sugery. Illustrated edn. 5, revised. Perigee. Introduction to HIV and AIDS Drug Treatment. Treatment and Care. AVERT. 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