Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome - Essay Example

Running Head: Aids Aids [Institute’s AIDS “AIDS is the abbreviation of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, it is a disease spread by HIV virus” (USDHHS, 2010). The ground reason behind the diagnosis of AIDS for any person is the weakness of ones immune system to fight with HIV infections developed in the body (USDHHS, 2010). The history of AIDS throughout the world is rich enough as to make this syndrome as an epidemic. Though the identification of AIDS for the first time took place in 1980s and since then the epidemic has affected and infected unexampled number of people throughout the globe (Crescent., 2008) (Sutton, 2009). According to UNAIDS estimation at present, there is an approximation of 33.4 million people across the globe living on this face of earth while suffering from AIDS and every year estimated two million people expire from AIDS and its related illnesses. UNAIDS has approximated (UNAIDS, 2008). The case is even more critical in Sub-Sahara region of Africa where every 7 out of 10 deaths take place due to AIDS. Moreover, the region has almost sixty-six percent living case of AIDS and the percentage of new AIDS infection in children is as much as ninety percent (Stine, 2009). The cause of AIDS is the HIV virus. It is the virus that slowly weakens the human immune system. HIV increasingly does damage to the immune system cells therefore, the human body gets more prone to these infections, to which it has trouble in fighting back. A person diagnosed with AIDS is usually at the very high and advanced level of HIV infection flourishing in its body. The development of HIV in a human body is a slow process and it can take even years for a person with HIV virus to become an AIDS patient (AIDS.org, 2009). The symptoms of AIDS are though, not as vivid and obvious as the symptoms of other diseases. The person diagnosed with aid has the obvious illnesses related to AIDS. These AIDS related symptoms or conditions include infections, cancer, or tumor. These infections are opportunistic infections because of the reason that they develop in any human body due to the weak immune system. A person can suffer from AIDS with or without these opportunistic infection, the other symptoms are the tumor or cancer in any part of the human body due to AIDS. Moreover, the diagnosis of AIDS is also positive when the total number of human immune system cells decrease to a certain point. The major channels through which the transmission of AIDS takes place are the sexual intercourse, getting exposed to the infected parts of body or fluids, and from mother to their child during the birth period of the child. The saliva, tears, and urine of people suffering from AIDS has the traces of infections that be the source of transmission of this disease as well. However, the possibility of effective transmission is insignificant and negligible. The most prominent mode of transmission of this disease is through the sexual intercourse or contact without any protection. The disease transmits from the person having the HIV virus effectively to the person sexually in contact with the infected individual. There is a two step procedure that can help preventing this disease transmitting by sexual contact. The first step includes spreading the word and creating awareness that unsafe and unprotected sexual contacts can give rise to AIDS. Moreover, the second step towards the prevention of this disease is the practical approach that people should undergo safe and protected sexual intercourse in order to minimize the potential risks attached to this disease. Increasing the awareness is the prime factor reducing the threats and risks involved in making unsafe sexual contacts. The other preventive measure involve reduced and decreased exposure to HIV infection by taking effective precautionary measurements in order to scale down the risk of transmittance of infection present in contaminated blood through needles and syringes etc. These precautionary measurements involve using gloves, masks, protected shields, anti bacterial gowns, and equipments etc. However, the supreme methodology to bring a change towards good health takes place by educating people and giving rise to their awareness level regarding AIDS. The process of diagnosing AIDS in people contaminated with the HIV holds its basis when certain symptoms or conditions are present in infected patients. These conditions are certain opportunistic infections (UNAIDS, 2008) and the tumors or cancer related to AIDS as discussed above. Clinical and laboratory data is most significant for the effective diagnosis of this disease according to the standards of World Health Organization (UNAIDS, 2008). Although there does not exist any proper medication for the treatment of HIV AIDS. However, there are two mechanisms of treatment that people with HIV AIDS get benefit from. First treatment is the antiretroviral treatment that is most likely to extend the time duration between the induction of HIV infection in human body and the attack of AIDS in response to induction of HIV. Modern combination therapy has put great positive impact on the treatment of AIDS. Using this modern combination therapy the development of AIDS is most likely to step and the persons suffering from it can spend the rest of its life without further development in the disease. This therapy is usually effective for people at the initial stages of this disease. There are also different therapies available in order to treat the disease in an effective manner. Like the old days, AIDS is no more a death monster in every case. Modern therapies have provided significant benefits to people suffering from different stages of AIDS in terms of both the quality and the length of life (Schreibman, 2003). The treatment of some infections is easy as compared to other infections. Therefore, the type of infection a person has is also detrimental in deciding the effectiveness of treatment for the AIDS patient. Another major aspect that holds significant importance in this discussion is the transmission and flourishing of AIDS and AIDS related diseases in prisons (Sutton, 2009). There is an increased trend of unsafe and unprotected activities in prisons that gives rise to AIDS and makes the place even more prone to this disease. These activities involve use of needles and pins for injecting fluids into the body or for the purpose of tattooing that is a very common practice in western prisons. Moreover, these activities also include the unsafe, unprotected, and many a times forced sexual contacts between the people of same and different sex both. This also gives rise to AIDS at exponential rates. Concluding the discussion, AIDS has emerged as one of the most potential threat to world health. Although there is no complete treatment available as yet for the cure for this disease however, with the advent of science and technology the threats of this disease has reduced greatly providing many benefits to the people suffering from it. References AIDS.org. (2009). AIDS.org. Retrieved on March 20, 2010, from AIDS.org: http://www.aids.org/ Crescent., R. C. (2008). World Disasters Report 2008: focus on HIV and AIDS. Red Cross Red. Schreibman, T. &. (2003). “Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection Prevention.” Clinical Infectious Diseases. Volume 36, Issue 9, pp. 1171-1176. Stine, G. J. (2009). AIDS Update 2009. McGraw-Hill Higher Education. Sutton, M. Y. (2009). “Prevention’s Response to the HIV/AIDS Crisis among Blacks in the United States, 1981–2009.” American Journal of Public Health. pp. S351-S359. UNAIDS. (2008). Report on the Global AIDS Epidemic. World Health Organization. USDHHS. (2010). Official Website of Aids.gov. Retrieved March 20, 2010, from USDHHS: http://www.aids.gov/ Read More