Australia and the World. HIV problem - Essay Example

At the outset, it is vital to have an understanding of HIV and the reason behind it to become a serious issue in Australia. HIV is known to be the virus leading to AIDS. HIV stands for ‘Human Immunodeficiency Virus’ whereas AIDS stands for ‘Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome’. HIV tends to destroy the cells of the immune system of the body that leads to the incapability of the body to battle against infections as well as certain sorts of cancers. The people who are caught with having AIDS are found to get severe diseases that are caused because of the microbes such as viruses as well as bacteria.
There are various means through which the virus tends to transmit to the partners’ body. A person suffering from AIDS is probable to spread the virus to other person’s body when they come in contact with each other.
The national survey report conducted in Australia for the ‘sexually transmitted diseases’ has found that there has been rise in the rate of the HIV infections amid the people who are above the age of 55. Further to be noted, a significant populace of Australia are testing to be HIV positive. The number as registered in October 2010 has been approximately 20,000 Australians. It was also noted that there were 1050 new infections in the year 2009. This number is quite a tiny fraction of the total number of the Australians who are being infected by the disease called Chlamydia. Most of the people who belong to the age group of 30 seem to have contracting that STD (sexually transmitted diseases) which is described by the researchers as being Chlamydia epidemic. The reason behind the senior population of the Australia suffering from HIV has been manifold. The point to note is that the people who are getting infected with the HIV kind of diseases tend to be of the generation who has already been in the world when the HIV first affected the world or became pronounced. Therefore, those people tend to have their peers who may also be infected by HIV. In this regard, it can be demonstrated that with the decline in the age of the person, the number of the people who are infected with HIV tends to decline. The main reason behind this is that the HIV infection spreads amongst those peers who come in contact with each other. It was found from the survey that since Australia has relation with other countries of the world, people from other countries suffering from HIV/ AIDS tend to bring with them HIV into Australia. These people are already infected from HIV in their country from where they are actually originated, generally unaware of the fact that they are living with HIV. They come to know regarding it only during the process of migration or at times when Australians raise health concerns. In addition to this the Australians who go overseas for the purpose of higher studies or for other matters tend to get infected with the virus. The part of the globe where the Australians are going out and are getting infected is Asia. The use of the contraceptive devices may assist in reducing the likeliness of the people getting infected by HIV.2 Measures Taken It is worthy to notice that the government of Australia is aiding $11 million so that mothers in Papua New Guinea can prevent transmitting the HIV to their babies. Mothers residing in the country’s highland can be assisted to get the drugs that would stop the transmission of the HIV to their babies in collaboration with Clinton Health Access Initiative. Further, according to the views of Mr. Kevin Rudd, the foreign Minister of Australia, the money would further assist in funding paediatric care for those 700 children who are HIV positive. It has been found that Papua New Guinea in Asia-Pacific region that lies ...Show more