AIDS

AIDS - Know the Basics

It is generally accepted that AIDS has reached epidemic proportions in most countries around the world. Over a million people worldwide have become infected with the HIV virus which is the precursor of AIDS.

The disease has had a great impact on minority populations and especially in Africa. The number of pregnant women with the HIV virus who are spreading it to their unborn children is on the increase, and many children are being born with the potential for developing the full AIDS virus.

You may already know the difference between HIV and AIDS. HIV is a subgroup of retro viruses that cause AIDS.  HIV destroys cells in the body’s immune system and progressively destroys the body’s ability to combat infections. 

This inability to keep infections at bay also affects some cancers as well. As the HIV intensifies, the body’s ability to fend off infection and bacteria, that would not normally make people sick, diminishes, and these infections can take hold in the body and become potentially life threatening.

AIDS is the acronym for ‘acquired immunodeficiency syndrome’ which was first recognized in 1981 in New York City. It was in 1983 that the virus  was isolated and identified and not until 1985 that a diagnostic test was developed for the disease. 

HIV virus and AIDS research has been carried out since the early 1980’s.
The epidemic continues to grow and the scientific community is  constantly working on possible vaccines and therapies for AIDS and the other HIV associated conditions. 

There are more than 30 HIV vaccines being tested on patients and many drugs for HIV or AIDS related infections are in development by the major laboratories.  Researchers are still trying to trace

How the disease progresses and damages the immune system is the subject of ongoing research.

Researchers are developing a chemical that could be used during sex as a possible barrier to passing on the disease, but education is the key to getting the disease under control.

The world's populations need an increased awareness of the dangers of HIV and AIDS and the need for behavioural change to reduce the risk of transmitting the disease. Education about the dangers posed by AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases is needed to help people do more to protect themselves from this life threatening disease.

Although research continues, the current preventative methods are probably inadequate to slow the epidemic.  Many more countries need to commit to implementing programs to treat and prevent HIV infection and the more serious AIDS disease.