Introduction
HIV(human immunodeficiency virus) is a kind of virus that destroys or attacks a person’s immune system
There’s no effective medicine to cure it, which means once you get it you’ll have it for your whole life
The first HIV infection comes from the chimpanzee in central Africa
The chimpanzee version of HIV is called SIV(simian immunodeficiency virus). The virus passes to human because they hunted chimpanzees and ate their meat
Later, HIV slowly spread across Africa and later spread into other parts of the world. The HIV was spread into America in the 1970s
Over 1.1 million people in the US are living with HIV, but almost ⅙ of them don’t know they have it
If HIV is not treated, it can lead to AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome)
How HIV spreads
HIV can be transmitted through unprotected sex
HIV can also be spread by the transmission of infected blood
Another way HIV is spread is through heredity
If a mother has HIV, that means their baby will have a very high chance of getting HIV during pregnancy because mothers are sharing blood with the embryos
Short-Term Effects
Flu-like sickness
Fatigue
Shortness of breath
Fever
Weight loss
Diarrhea
Cough
Rash
Chills
Night sweats
Sore throat
Headache
Swollen lymph nodes
Joint pain
Muscle aches
Mouth or genital ulcers
Long-Term Effects
Anxiety
Depression
Memory impairment
Stress
Hallucinations
Frank psychosis
Balance or coordination issues
Factors of Getting the Disease
Often performing unprotected sexual intercourse
Having another sexually transmitted infection (STI) such as syphilis, herpes, chlamydia, gonorrhea, and bacterial vaginosis;
Sharing contaminated needles, syringes, and other injecting equipment and drug solutions when injecting drugs.
Receiving unsafe injections, blood transfusions, and tissue transplantation
Medical procedures that involve unsterile cutting or piercing.
Experiencing accidental needle stick injuries, including among health workers.
Therefore, by avoiding the factors listed above, such as unhealthy sex or unsafe injections, the chance of getting HIV is decreased
Prevention
Since HIV is transmitted by sexual activities and bodily fluids, one method of prevention is to abstain from sexual intercourse or use protection, or condoms (although you still have to be careful)
Another way to prevent HIV is to never share needles no matter the circumstance (medical or drug)
Another method to prevent transmission is to never get someone’s blood who has HIV onto you as this can increase the chance of you having a wound or sore.
Treatment
Unfortunately, no cure has ever been found to alleviate AIDS and cure HIV yet, there have been some treatments that can drastically improve someone’s quality of life with HIV such as Antiretroviral therapy (ART), a combination of several medicines that aim to control the amount of virus in your body. Antiretroviral medicines also slow the rate at which the virus grows.
Impact
According to the CDC, HIV has infected and killed millions of people
37.7 people in the world were infected with HIV in 2019.
About 1.7 million children have HIV
38 million people in Africa have HIV.
With HIV out there, people need to be more cautious during sexual intercourse
Work Cited
https://www.cdc.gov/globalhealth/newsroom/topics/hiv/index.html#:~:text=Despite%20the%20existence%20of%20medications,were%20newly%20infected%20with%20HIV.
https://www.hiv.gov/federal-response/pepfar-global-aids/global-hiv-aids-overview
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