Treatments For HIV/AIDS Among Different Types Of Population
Introduction
HIV is a disease that had been linked to human and it is also known as the disease of the century. According to avert.org, the first case of HIV in human was found in 1959 form a man in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Evidence shown that it was started in Africa. HIV is a dangerous virus that destroys the human immune system which helps to prevent illnesses. It is even more dangerous because there is no cure or vaccines available for this fatal disease. Once someone is infected by this disease, it is almost impossible to return to who they were before and they will get weaker and easy to catch sickness since their immune systems are weakened. People can die from HIV virus if left untreated but there are treatments out there that is proven effective in treating HIV and AIDS. There are many ways that the disease can be transmitted from one person to another. Unfortunately, the number of cases caught with HIV disease This paper explores the facts of this disease such as what are HIV and AIDS, origin, ways to expose, and treatments available for different types of populations in society in North America.
What Is HIV? What is AIDS?
HIV is also known as Human Immunodeficiency Virus. It is a deadly virus because it attacks the immune system which helps prevent illnesses and gives the bodies the ability to fight back against other diseases. There is a misunderstanding that people tend to think HIV and AIDS are the same because they go together. But HIV and AIDS are actually different from each other. Based on the above definition, HIV is the virus. According to avert.org, AIDS in order words which is Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome and also known as the advanced HIV infection or late-stage HIV. It is a set of symptoms caused by the HIV virus. It is the last stage of HIV and when the infection is advanced, death can occur if left unthreatened.
According to HIV.gov, millions of people are living with HIV in the United States, but 15% percent of the number which means every 1 out of 7 people are unaware that they are infected with the virus. Based on the data recorded in 2016, an estimation of 38,700 Americans is become newly infected with the HIV virus. This means that the number of case that is infected with HIV increase every day due to many activities and factor that can contribute to the infection. Based on CDC.gov, in 2017, roughly 21% of the new HIV diagnoses in the United States are youth from ages 13 to 24. In the age group of 13 to 24, about 87% are young men and 13% are young women which mean the number of HIV infection is likely more in young male compare to young women. In 2016, an estimation of 17% of new diagnoses is people age 50 and older. In the population of people 50 years and older, 42% are African American, 37% White American, 18% Hispanic/ Latinos and 4% for the other races.
How Do Someone Contract HIV Virus?
HIV is an unusual virus because it isn’t contagious in which it cannot contract easily from one person to another. HIV is only contracted through specific activities and the most common that most cases that got transmitted are through sexual behaviors, syringe or needle sharing. There are certain body fluids that contribute to the spread of HIV virus such as semen, blood, vaginal fluids, rectum fluids, breast milk, pre-cum, semen…These body fluids must come in contact with damaged tissues such as a tear or mucous membrane to infect HIV viruses. It is usually injected through the bloodstream for the spread to happen. Mucous membranes are usually found in the mouth, vagina, penis. HIV is mainly spread in the United States by having sexual intercourse (anal or vaginal sex) without using a condom or HIV prevention medications such as PrEP or TasP. When having sexual behaviors without using protection, a person is at risk of infecting the HIV virus. HIV can be transmitted through syringe or needle-sharing because it comes to blood contact and that is when it is the easiest route
for the HIV virus to travel into one’s bloodstream and start developing signs and symptoms of the immune system being impacted. HIV virus is not easy to be transmitted but once it had developed then it became a dangerous disease with no medication that can get rid of it. If left untreated it will soon lead to AIDS.
What are the symptoms?
Based on Mayo Clinic, in the first few weeks of the HIV virus infection, one may have some flu-like symptoms such as cold, sore throat, fever, and fatigue may occur. The disease sometimes doesn’t show any signs until it progressed to AIDS which is the last stage and a person may have signs of weight loss, fatigue, recurrent infections, night sweat, … During the HIV infection, the person may experience extreme fatigue, pain in the abdomen, dry cough, and find it hard to swallow, diarrhea, vomiting, … The latter stage of the HIV infection usually has symptoms such as skin rashes, swollen glands, bleeding in anus, vagina…It is hard to know if one is infected with the HIV virus because there are no definite specific signs or physical abnormalities that confirm one’s infection status. The best way to fight against the virus is by knowing the status by going through blood testing. HIV is commonly tested by using blood or saliva. HIV home kit testings are also available. One can use the kit by dropping a drop of blood or saliva and if the test shows positive, one must immediately see a doctor confirm the status of HIV. There are also testing centers for HIV. Some may have the result at the spot but some take time for the result to come back so make sure if one believes that they are exposed to HIV they must get tested right away to get the result quickly and more accurate. It is important to know the status of HIV to get the treatment as soon as possible. The early stage is usually having a higher risk of spreading. If one is negative to HIV, one can explore prevention ways to keep them protected. It is the most accurate way and helps detect disease and prevent spreading because of a lack of knowledge about the infection status. HIV doesn’t kill someone immediately but it is a silent killer by taking time to kill them by attacking their immune system and let sickness happen to them. That is why everyone should take it seriously by understanding HIV and the risks of it.
