HIV-AIDS is a significant problem we all face today as a global society. HIV stands for Human Immuno Deficiency Virus. Basically what this means is that it is a virus that causes the human immune system to not work properly. The thing that makes HIV so scary is the fact that it is a virus. Once a human has a virus they have it for life. Viruses are not curable only treatable. HIV if it is not treated well enough can then turn into AIDS, which stands for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. HIV attacks your immune system until it can no longer fight off disease, germs, and other viruses. Some people don’t understand the difference between HIV and AIDS. The two work together. HIV comes first and AID’s follows without proper treatment. According to avert.org: a person is diagnosed with AIDS when they have developed an AIDS related condition or symptom, called an opportunistic infection, or an AIDS related cancer. The infections are called ‘opportunistic’ because they take advantage of the opportunity offered by a weakened immune system. So AIDS is basically like another disease or virus that starts to kill the body because the person’s immune system was severely weakened by the HIV virus. So as I mentioned above, the two work hand and hand. It was first detected in the 1980’s and has spread rapidly all around the globe. The article stated that over two million people have died worldwide from AIDS. This is a staggering amount of people. That’s like a whole countries population being wiped out.
Moving onto my next point. When ever most people think about HIV-AIDS they probably think of either A. Africa or B. the gay population. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention: “At the end of 2006, an estimated 1.1 million persons in the United States were living with diagnosed or undiagnosed HIV/AIDS. In 2007, 42,655 new cases of HIV/AIDS in adults, adolescents, and children were diagnosed in the 33 states with long-term, confidential name-based HIV reporting.” Cleary, HIV-AIDS is not just an African problem. Over one million people in the U.S. were living with HIV-AIDS. What about all the people that have died from it in the U.S. as well? It’s also important for us all to realize that HIV-AIDS is not just a quote on quote “gay problem.” HIV-AIDS dose not pick and choose whom it wants to effect. You would think in this day and age most people would have the knowledge to think before they speak, but many are quick to jump to conclusions. It doesn’t matter if your gay, straight, black, white, male, female, Christian, or Jewish, HIV-AIDS could affect you. I believe that these two factors are preventing us from becoming more effective in the treatment and prevention of HIV-AIDS because if everyone’s thinking is its not my problem how are we ever going to overcome it as a global society?
HIV-AIDS is a significant problem and has been one since the 1980’s. Could this problem have been prevented? Probably not. Doctors are still learning each and everyday about this deadly disease. Hopefully someday we will be able to find a cure for it and be able to help those who do have it in order for them to live a full life. The article I found about HIV-AIDS in Queensland is quite disturbing. AIDS doesn’t get as much publicity as it used to by the media, but it’s scary when you see that cases are growing in areas. It seems like Queensland had some good people working over there to try to reduce the numbers and prevent more occurrences. Hopefully the number of occurrences will drop next year.
Works Cited
Avert. 2010. 16 Mar. 2010
“Fact Sheets: HIV/AIDS.” Center for Disease Control and Prevention. USA.gov. 16
Mar. 2010
“Qld HIV-AIDS Cases Soar.” The Sydney Morning Herald. 2010. 16 Mar. 2010
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