HIV/AIDS: Its Progression through Time and How to stop it - Essay Example

? HIV/AIDS: It’s Progression through Time and How to stop it Introduction The acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) was first recognized in 1981. The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) was recognized as the virus that causes AIDS in 1983 (Roger et al. 505-506). People who have the virus in their bodies are said to have HIV infection or to be HIV -positive. HIV kills immune system CD4 cells (T-Cells) that protect the body from disease (Barr 417). In time, the damage to the immune system is severe enough to result in symptoms or illness. This destructive process may take as many as ten years or more (Barr 417 - 418). For this reason, people who have HIV infection often look and feel quite healthy. In fact, as many as 1 in 4 Americans are unaware that they have HIV infection (Carrel 148). Even when a person with HIV infection looks and feels fine, he or she can pass the virus on to others, thus driving the need for education about HIV infection. HIV can be transmitted from an infected person to another through blood, semen, vaginal secretions, and breast milk (Sadock et al. 373- 374). HIV infection is considered a sexually transmitted disease (STD) given its transmission routes (i.e., blood as well as vaginal, anal and oral sex) (Sadock et al. 373 - 374). Accroding to Avert (p. 1) growing numbers of young people worldwide still become infected with HIV. The CDC reported that teens are engaging in increasing amount of sexually risk behavior. During last decade the number of those having unprotected intercourse has been steadily on the rise and individual teens are having greater number of sexual partner. As these risky behaviors continued unchecked, statistics show that 60% of all HIV infections occur in the 15-24 year old age group (WHO 1). These epidemiologic data press the need for education, prevention, and early detection as well as treatment for adolescent and young adult age groups. Body Progression of HIV and Lack of Awareness AIDS stands for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (Bartlett). People with HIV infection are diagnosed with AIDS (i.e., are AIDS-defined) when they meet given laboratory test criteria, or are diagnosed with specific diseases. The AIDS definition developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) includes the following conditions: a person must be HIV positive and have a CD4 (T-cell) count below 200/mm3 or must have one or more opportunistic infections (Nye & Parkin 35- 36). These circumstances only occur when the virus has caused significant damage to the immune system. Thus, a positive HIV test result does not mean that a person has AIDS until the person receives a diagnosis of AIDS based on the CDC's diagnostic criteria (Nye & Parkin 35 -36). The symptoms and course of AIDS are variable and individual. For example, some people with AIDS are quite ill, while others have periods of apparent good health that alternate with episodes of illness. Some people with AIDS feel good most or all of the time. Some feel very sick most of the time. The course of the illness also varies. A few people become severely ill as early as one or two years after becoming infected with HIV (Marlink & Kotin 24- 25). Commonly, other people develop serious illness about ten years after their sentinel HIV infection (TCC Antiretroviral 298 - 299). There are also a few individuals who have had HIV infection for over 20 years without developing serious illness (TCC Antiretroviral 298 -299). HIV is passed from one person to another person through sexual and blood-to-blood contact. There are a number of ways that the virus can be passed on to other persons, including sharing needles that have come in contact with blood; pregnant women with HIV infections who can pass the virus to their babies during pregnancy, delivery, or breastfeeding; and contact with vaginal fluid or semen. Since these modalities all cause the infection to be transmitted from one person to another, it is important that individuals take personal responsibility to avoid infecting others through these modes of transmission, or through risk-taking behaviors that place them and others at risk for HIV (Sadock et al. 373 - 375). During the early stages of the HIV infection, one person can infect others and spread the disease without knowing that they are infected (Champion et al. 241; Magalhaes et al 87). When the white blood cell count becomes quite low and the individual experiences additional complications with opportunistic illnesses, they will eventually be diagnosed as having AIDS. This virus acts like a smart and intelligent agent that often masks itself as another ailment or illness and only later is revealed as HIV. It is imperative that organizations must develop interventions and educational programs to control the spread of the HIV/AIDS virus. These interventions would be helpful in increasing awareness of the modes of HIV transmission, and widespread dissemination of the relevant prevention information. Importance of Education and school based Educational Programs It is important to note that the educational sector could feasibly be developed into a vehicle to provide comprehensive information, support, and guidance about HIV (Bandura 157- 158). Schools are the sole institution that are regularly attended by most young people and virtually all youth are enrolled at a time before they initiate sexual risk-taking behaviours (Bandura, 158). In addition, starting programs early ensure that those students who do not remain in school to the upper years will be reached (Gallant & Maticka-Tyndale 1337 ). Of significant importance is that growing numbers of young people worldwide still become infected with HIV and, therefore, it is essential that these young people be exposed to education that equips them with the knowledge and ability to aid in preventing infection (Schaalma, Abraham, Gillmore & Kok, 259- 260). Children between the ages of 5 and 14 are the age group that is most likely to be uninfected by the virus and, as such, be the 'window of hope' for the society they live in. It is easier to prevent detrimental health habits than to try to change them at a later date; as such, prevention should be a priority (Bandura 157). Behavioural education, is most effective on young people, who can be influenced before the engagement in various risky health-related behaviours (Bandura 145- 146). Schools, as a microcosm of society, can set an example in allaying fears, creating an environment of openness and respect, and promote human rights, equity, objectivity, inquiry, and debate. Conclusion AIDS has become a worldwide pandemic affecting the entire global community. The U.S Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has reported that in the United States, growing number of adolescent and young people are infected with HIV/AIDS (Avert 1). One of the factors that contribute to the spread of HIV/AIDS is lack of awareness of the disease. Therefore, there is a need for HIV/AIDS education for young people. The principal reason that HIV/AIDS education is necessary is because growing numbers of young people worldwide still become infected. One of the key means of HIV prevention is education (i.e., teaching people about HIV: what it is, what it does, and how to protect themselves). Along this line, school-based HIV/AIDS education programs serve as guidelines for young people to realize the nature of the disease and importance of preventive measures particularly during their adolescence. Successful implementation of such programs, however, depends on the involvement of all stakeholders in all phases of the HIV/AIDS prevention intervention, with a view to promoting the interventions' marketability, enhance their credibility, and increase participant learning and behavior change. Work Cited Avert.org.. HIV and AIDS education. Retrieved December 7, 2011 from http://www.avert.org/aids-hiv-education.htm Bandura, A. (2004). Health Promotion by Social Cognitive Means. Health Education & Behavior, 31(2), 143-164. Barr, S.. "Cellular HIV-1 restriction factors: a new avenue for AIDS therapy? "  Future Virology  5.4 (2010): 417-433.  Bartlett, J. (2005). Medical management of HI V Infection. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins Medicine. Carrel, D. My Dream to Trample AIDS: What Everyone at Any Age Should Know About HIV/AIDS, Dog Ear Publishing, LLC. 2011. Champion, JD. RN Shain, J Piper. Perdue, Sondra T. “Sexual Abuse and Sexual Risk Behaviors of Minority Women with Sexually Transmitted Diseases” West J Nurs Res 23(3): (2001), 241-254 Gallant, M. & Maticka-Tyndale, E. (2004). School-Based HIV Prevention Programmes for African Youth. Social Science & Medicine, 58(7), 1337-1351. Magalhaes, Jarbas, Eliana Amarala, Paulo Cesar Giraldoa, & Jose Antonio Simoes. “HIV infection in women: impact on contraception”. Contraception 66(2): (2002), p 87-91. Marlink, Richard G., & Kotin, Alison G. Global AIDS crisis: a reference handbook, ABC-CLIO, 2004. Nye, K. E. & Parkin, J. M. HIV and AIDS. Garland Science, 2003. Rogers, Martha F. MD, FAAP; Taylor, Allan W. MD, MPH; Nesheim, Steven R. MD. “Preventing Perinatal Transmission of HIV: The National Perspective” Journal of Public Health Management & Practice 16(6): (2010), p 505–508 Sadock, Benjamin J. and Sadock, Virginia A. Synopsis of Psychiatry: Behavioral Sciences/Clinical Psychiatry. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; Tenth, North American Edition. Schaalma, H. P., Abraham, C., Rogers Gillmore, M. & Kok, G. (2004). "Sex Education as Health Promotion: What Does it Take? Archives of Sexual Behaviour, 33(3), 259­-269. TCC Antiretroviral “Life expectancy of individuals on combination antiretroviral therapy in high-income countries: a collaborative analysis of 14 cohort studies.” Lancet. 372(9635): (2008) 293–299. WHO, School health and youth health promotion: facts. Information Retrieved December 7, 2011 from http://www.who.int/school_youth_health/facts/en/index.html Read More