Life: World Aids Day

Originally published at 02:16am
Updated at 07.50am, 14.22pm
Continued as World Aids Day – Part II

Neil’s post reminded me that it was “World AIDS Day” today (AIDS is an acronym for “Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome”). (I did originally read about it via WannaBeGirl‘s site)

Like Neil, I believe I am HIV negative (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) negative – i.e. I am not carrying the virus that leads to AIDS (if I was, I would be HIV Positive: that is the HIV virus had been detected in my bloodstream).

Neil did comment “The fact that there is no real cure, the fact that you know you will die a slow, painful and premature death should the disease take hold” does ring a bell for me, as a relative of mine does have Myasthenia Gravis (which, like HIV+/AIDS, is where the body’s immune system develops a fault – but luckily MG isn’t transferable between people, except maybe through hereditary reasons).

Oh, and whilst on the “tangent of the subject” – did you know, that like Alzheimer’s Disease, no one has yet directly died of AIDS. But, rather, AIDS related illnesses. All three conditions mentioned (AIDS, MG, AD) weaken the body in such as way that even a common cold can develop into pneumonia and kill a sufferer.

Other bloggers, please consider joining in with the “Link And Think” campaign.

For more details, facts and statistics about AIDS (include how you can get tested and/or free contraceptives) – read on!

HIV testing is available free on the NHS and is anonymous via your local Genito-Urinary Medicine (GUM) clinic where you can also get tested for other sexually transmitted diseases. If, however, you go to your local doctor (GP), they may record it in your medical notes which may be disclosed to potential employers or insurance companies. As per most things, prevention is better than cure (especially when there is no known cure), so think before you have sexual relationships with someone (the HIV virus can even be transferred via saliva). Oh, and in case you had forgotten, I have previously mentioned that condoms are available free via your local Family Planning Clinic (and most forms of contraception are available via a ‘free prescription’ from your local doctor) and condoms do help protect you against other STDs/STIs (sexually transmitted infections). More information about AIDS is available from the National AIDS Trust.

Ok, now for some facts and statistics:

1. The first medical case of AIDS was diagnosed in 1981.
2. Since then 40million people contracted AIDS worldwide – of those, about a third have already died.
3. 42million people currently have HIV/AIDS (of that number, 3.2million are children under 15 years of age) and that figure grew by 5million during 2002. This breaks down as thus:
   • Western Europe: 570,000 people suffering (5,000 children) – increase of 30,000.
   • North America: 980,000 people suffering (10,000 children) – increase of 45,000.
   • Latin America: 1.5million people suffering (45,000 children) – increase of 150,000.
   • Caribbean: 440,000 people suffering (20,000 children) – increase of 60,000.
   • North Africa and the Middle East: 550,000 people suffering (40,000 children) – increase of 83,000.
   • Sub-Saharan Africa: 29.4million people suffering (2.8million children) – increase of 3.5million.
   • Australia and New Zealand: 15,000 people suffering (less than 200 being children) – increase of around 500.
   • East Asia and the Pacific: 1.2million people suffering (4,000 children) – increase of 270,000.
   • South and South-East Asia: 6million people suffering (240,000 children) – increase of 700,000.
   • Eastern Europe and Central Asia: 1.2million suffering (16,000 children) – increase of 250,000.
4. 3.1million people died from AIDS related illnesses in 2002:
   • Western Europe saw 8,000 AIDS related deaths – 2,300 in Spain, 1,100 in Italy, 1,000 in Portugal, 660 in Germany and 450 in the UK
   • North America saw 15,000 AIDS related deaths – 15,000 in the US and less than 500 in Canada.
   • Latin America saw 60,000 AIDS related deaths – 8,400 in Brazil, 5,600 in Colombia, 5,200 in Guatemala and 4,200 in Mexico
   • The Caribbean saw 440,000 AIDS related deaths – 30,000 in Haiti, 7,800 in the Dominican Republic, 1,200 in Trinidad and Tobago and 980 in Jamaica
   • North Africa and the Middle East saw 37,000 AIDS related deaths.
   • Sub-Saharan Africa saw 2.4million AIDS related deaths – 360,000 in South Africa, 200,000 in Zimbabwe, 190,000 in Kenya, 170,000 in Nigeria, 160,000 in Ethiopia, 140,000 in Tanzania.
   • Australia and New Zealand saw around 100 AIDS related deaths.
   • East Asia and the Pacific saw 45,000 AIDS related deaths – 30,000 of them being in China, 880 in Papua New Guinea, 430 in Japan and 220 in South Korea
   • South and South-East Asia saw 440,000 AIDS related deaths.
   • Eastern Europe and Central Asia saw 25,000 AIDS related deaths – 11,000 in the Ukraine, 9,000 in Russia, 1,000 in Belarus and 350 in Romania.
5. More than two-thirds of the people who die of AIDS related illnesses live in Sub-Saharan Africa. In several countries at least 1 in 5 adults is HIV positive.
6. The South and South-East Asia regions account for 15% of all infections worldwide (with India accounting for 3.9million people out of 6million) – the most common way of spreading AIDS is through unsafe drug-injecting practises.
7. Over 8,000 people a day die from AIDS related illnesses, the majority in the developing world.
8. Five young people around the world become infected with HIV every minute.
9. Whilst 90% of HIV/AIDS cases occur in developing countries, only 10% of resources for HIV/AIDS are spent in those countries.
10. The HIV virus can be detected using the ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) test to see if the body’s immune system has produced a specific antibody
11. HIV can be spread in four different ways:
    • By having vaginal, anal or oral sex with someone who is infected with HIV
    • By sharing needles or syringes with a HIV positive person.
    • From an infected mother to her baby during pregnancy, childbirth or, in rare cases, breast-feeding.
    • Through blood transfusions. However, in most developed countries (such as North America and Western Europe) donated blood and plasma is ‘HIV screened’
12. You cannot catch HIV via:
    • Handshakes
    • Hugs
    • Coughs or sneezes
    • Sweat or tears
    • Pets
    • Mosquitoes or other insects
    • Eating food prepared/served by someone else
    • Being around an infected person
    • Toilet or shower facilities
    • Forks, knives, spoons or cups
    • Swimming pools or sports/gym equipment
    • Chairs, desks, bus seats, phones or computers
13. 26% of sexually active teenagers think it’s impossible to get HIV through oral sex: it is possible.
14. In the UK, 54% of HIV infected people acquired it via male homosexual activities, 30% between male and female couples, 7% via drug injection, 3% via blood/tissue transfer and 2% of mothers gave it to their children.
15. There are three distinct stages of HIV infection:
    1. Primary HIV Infection: Usually lasting for a few works (and often accompanied by a short flu like illness sometimes referred to as ‘seroconversion illness’). During this stage there is a large amount of HIV in the peripheral blood and the immune system begins to respond to the virus by producing HIV antibody and cytotoxin lymphocytes.
    2. Clinically Asymptomatic Stage: Lasting for an average of 10 years, the HIV virus is very active in the lymph nodes (sometimes producing swollen glands) and large amounts of T-helper cells are infected and die.
    3. Symptomatic HIV Infection: The immune system loses the struggle to contain HIV. It is at this point when HIV normally turns into AIDS.
16. The HIV virus attacks one particular type of cells in the body, called T-helper lymphocytes. These cells are important as they help to co-ordinate the body’s immune system. Over time HIV damages the immune system so badly that it can no longer fight infection and cancer as it would usually do. Most people who are infected with HIV have long period when they look and feel quite well. Many people do not even know that they are infected. HIV normally develops into AIDS in around 8-10 years time from infection – and an estimated 10-20% carrying HIV also have AIDS.

Sources:

• 1: Milestones reached in AIDS history
• 2+10:NHS Direct: AIDS
• 3-6: BBC News: 2001 AIDS epidemic and UNAIDS
• 7-9: BBC News: Exchanging the rat race for the frontline fight against AIDS
• 11: Sexual Integrity for Teens: Know the Facts About HIV/AIDS
• 12-13: The Body: Questions and Answers About Youth and HIV/AIDS
• 14: AVERT: United Kingdom HIV+AIDS Statistics by exposure category
• 15: AVERT: The Different Stages of HIV Infection
• 16: Womens Health: AIDS

A selection of recent news articles:

ABC News: Millions mark World AIDS Day as epidemic rages

“Millions of people around the globe marked World AIDS Day on Sunday with marches, prayers and hope amid grim statistics that show the raging epidemic is outpacing all efforts to control it.
In China, officials instructed 1 million students to launch a new national AIDS awareness campaign.
In Britain, health experts warned of a startling spike in new infections.
In South Africa – the country worst hit by the disease – a mass funeral for babies was held.”

CNN: Funerals, prayers and hope mark World AIDS Day

“JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (Reuters) — Millions of people around the globe marked World AIDS Day on Sunday with marches, prayers and hope amid grim statistics which show the raging epidemic outpacing all efforts to control it.
In China, officials instructed one million students to launch a new national AIDS awareness campaign; in Britain, health experts warned of a startling spike in new infections, and in South Africa — the country worst hit by the disease — they held a mass funeral for babies.”

Deutsche Welle: Dark Statistics Cloud World AIDS Day

“In its latest AIDS survey, the UN reports dramatically increasing infection rates in former Soviet states and Africa and warns of barriers high drug costs present for effective global treatment.
Just days before the official World AIDS Day on Dec. 1, UNAIDS and the World Health Organization released the latest data on the global health crisis. The international organizations estimate at least 42 million people around the world have become carriers of the HIV virus believed to cause AIDS. At least 3.2 million of those infected are children and 19.2 percent are adult women.”

ABC Online: AIDS discrimination remains barrier to control: UN

“The head of the United Nations agency for HIV and AIDS says discrimination against sufferers remains a major barrier to controlling the AIDS pandemic that is ravaging Africa.
The BBC reports the social prejudice suffered by people with AIDS can be as destructive as the disease itself.
The message from the UN on the 15th World AIDS Day is that efforts to tackle this devastating epidemic will not succeed until there is an end to stigma and discrimination against those who are infected.”

San Francisco Chronicle: New AIDS suspect – Researchers say reuse of needles as much to blame as sex behavior

“As African nations reel from huge HIV infection rates, a maverick theory that blames much of the epidemic on the reuse of contaminated hypodermic needles in medical settings is stirring controversy and prompting new research into the roots of the AIDS catastrophe.
Although the link between HIV infection and needle sharing among injection drug users is well-known, a small band of U.S. researchers is proposing that unsanitary medical practices in poor countries may be spreading the disease as much — if not more — than drug abuse or unprotected sex.”

BBC News: Safe sex message targets rise in HIV

“A campaign has been launched by the government to promote safe sex among young people following a rise in the number of new HIV cases in the UK.
New figures, released ahead of World Aids Day on Sunday, show a 25 per cent increase in the number of British people infected with HIV over the last year.”

BBC News: HIV hits women hardest

“More women than men have been infected with HIV, according to the latest figures. UNAids officials say the statistics reveal the changing face of the disease.
Globally, women now account for just over 50% of those infected with HIV.”

More articles are available via Google News.

Sites I know that are participating in “Link And Think“: Neil’s World, Ciaran’s Journal, Jish, BigPinkCookie.
Other blogs covering World AIDS day: “For No Good Reason“, “Midnight Bliss“.

This article is continued as World Aids Day Part 2