Hiv Aids in the United States

HIV/AIDS in the United States

The acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) epidemic has had a substantial impact on the health and economy of many nations. This paper however, talks about who's infected, how many people are living with the disease HIV/AIDS, how the disease is transmitted, global impact, and how we can prevent this dreadful disease from happening.

In the beginning, the male homosexual community was the most affected group due to infection as a result of anal sex. Bisexuality and drug abuse slowly transmitted the disease to the heterosexual community, and as we entered the nineties, a shift of prevalence to the heterosexual community was noticed. Most alarming however, is the fact that one of the fastest growing populations to be infected with HIV/AIDS is the young adult population, inclusive of high school and college students.

AIDS was first identified in the USA in 1981. The epidemic has now spread to every part of the USA and to all sectors of society. Since the first AIDS cases were reported in the United States in June 1981, the number of cases and deaths among persons with AIDS increased rapidly during the 1980s followed by substantial declines in new cases and deaths in the late 1990s. (C. 1) The greatest impact of the epidemic is among men who have sex with men (MSM) and among racial/ethnic minorities, with increases in the number of cases among women and of cases attributed to heterosexual transmission.

The number of persons living with AIDS has increased as deaths have declined. Controlling the epidemic requires sustained prevention programs in all of these affected communities, particularly programs targeting MSM, women, and injection drug users. At the end of 2004, the CDC estimates that 415,193 people were living with AIDS in the USA.1Of these, 35% were white, 43% were black, 20% were Hispanic, and 1% was of other race/ethnicity. Of the adults and adolescents2 with AIDS, 77% were men. Of these men, 58% were men who had sex with men (MSM), 21% were injection drug users (IDU), 11% were exposed through heterosexual contact, 8% were both MSM and IDU. Of the 93,566 adult and adolescent women with AIDS, 64% were exposed through heterosexual contact, 34% were exposed through injection drug use. An estimated 3,927 children were living with AIDS at the end of 2004, of which 97% probably acquired the infection from their mothers. (B.1)

Male-to-male sex has been the most common mode of exposure among persons reported with AIDS (46%), followed by injection drug use (25%) and heterosexual contact (11%). The incidence of AIDS increased rapidly in all three of these risk categories through the mid-1990s; however, since 1996, declines in new AIDS cases have been higher among MSM and injection drug users than among persons exposed through heterosexual contact (C.2)

Center for disease control (CDC) analyzed reported AIDS cases from 1981 through 2000 from the 50 states, District of Columbia, and U.S. territories. Proportions by sex, age, race/ethnicity, region, and vital status (living or deceased) were computed over four time periods corresponding to changes in the AIDS case definition and the introduction of effective combination antiretroviral therapy .Trends in estimated AIDS diagnoses and deaths of persons with AIDS were adjusted for reporting delays based on the number of cases reported to CDC through June 2000, and for anticipated reclassification of cases originally reported without human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection risk information. Estimated AIDS prevalence was calculated as the cumulative incidence of AIDS minus cumulative deaths adjusted for reporting delays. (C.2)

The chances of becoming infected with HIV by handling a body fluid are extremely small, because that fluid will rarely have access to a person's bloodstream. However, anyone handling blood, semen or vaginal fluids should be careful to avoid touching them with broken skin or getting them into mucous membranes (such as those around the eye). Air does not "kill" HIV, but exposure to air dries the fluid that contained the virus, and that will destroy or break up much of the virus very quickly. The CDC reports that drying HIV reduces viral amount by 90-99 percent within several hours.(C.2) HIV can be transmitted from an infected person to another through, blood (including menstrual blood), semen vaginal secretions, unprotected sexual contact,

direct blood contact (including injection drug needles, blood transfusions, accidents in health care settings or certain blood products), mother to baby (before or during birth, or through breast milk) Sexual intercourse (vaginal and anal). Oral sex (mouth-penis, mouth-vagina), and numerous of other behaviors.

AIDS in Africa is an epidemic that is spiraling out of control. Every 25 seconds another person in Africa is infected with the AIDS virus, HIV. An estimated 1,700 new infections occur each and every day and of the 11.5 million that have already died a quarter of these were children. Sub-Saharan Africa had 30 million people living with HIV/AIDS by early 2003 after 3.5 million new infections in 2002. 2.4 million Africans died in 2002. Ten million young people (aged 15-24) and almost 3 million children under 15 are living with HIV. (C.4) Very, very few with HIV or AIDS in Africa get antiretroviral treatment. Many millions are not receiving medicines to treat opportunistic infections. Much greater numbers of people who acquired HIV over the past years are becoming ill - it takes up to 10 years from infection to illness, so AIDS in Africa is often hidden. In the absence of massively expanded prevention efforts, the AIDS in Africa death toll will continue rising for another decade.

In four southern African countries, national adult HIV prevalence has, exceeded 30%: Botswana (38.8%), Lesotho (31%), Swaziland (33.4%) and Zimbabwe (33.7%). Food crises faced in the latter three countries are linked the HIV/AIDS epidemic, especially on the lives of young, productive adults. (C.4)

Yet, there hopeful signs that the epidemic of AIDS in Africa could eventually be brought under control. In South Africa, HIV prevalence rates fell to 15.4% in 2001 (down from 21% in 1998) for pregnant women under 20. Syphilis rates among pregnant women attending antenatal clinics also fell to 2.8% in 2001, from 11.2% four years earlier--suggesting that awareness campaigns and prevention programs are working. (C.4)

HIV/AIDS in the United States

The acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) epidemic has had a substantial impact on the health and economy