Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome as Public Disease - Essay Example

One of the major epidemics that has affected millions of people around the world is AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome). I believe that AIDS is the disease which holds vital importance for all of mankind. It is a disease which is brought into the body by the human immunodeficiency virus. This virus drastically reduces the natural immunity of the body and makes the patient susceptible to numerous infections. One of the major reasons in my choosing this disease is the manner in which it spreads.

Unfortunately, its spread is very directly linked with many of human being’s pleasures. Sex and drug abuse are phenomena which haunt even the most developed societies. To add to their unique challenges, HIV attaches itself with different modes of transmission. These modes range from many forms of sex (oral, vaginal etc) to use of contaminated needles. The virus also is transmitted from mother to child during pregnancy and even breast milk can cause infection (Woodward, 104). All these things create a very scary picture of the disease.

AIDS is a disease that continues to spread in different parts of the world at an alarming rate. World Health Organization (WHO) comes up with frightening statistics every year which reveal that millions of people are killed every year due to AIDS. Tens of millions are affected by it and they live under a cloud of fear and shame. The region that seems to be most affected is the continent of Africa (WHO, 5). People need to be informed about the importance of safe sex and marital faithfulness. There is no intention of limiting people’s sexual freedom but discretion and control should be practised.

Another way of slowing down the spread of AIDS is through needle-exchange programs (Chiras, 276).