December 1 - International AIDS Day
It having been International AIDS Day and all yesterday, I decided that I would educate myself on the AIDS issue. And then I decided that I would educate you too:
HIV is the virus that causes AIDS.
H - Human: because this virus can only infect human beings.
I - Immuno-deficiency: because the effect of the virus is to create a deficiency, a failure to work properly, within the body's immune system.
V - Virus: because this organism is a virus, which means one of its characteristics is that it is incapable of reproducing by itself. It reproduces by taking over the machinery of the human cell.
A - Acquired: because it's a condition one must acquire or get infected with; not something transmitted through the genes
I - Immune: because it affects the body's immune system, the part of the body which usually works to fight off germs such as bacteria and viruses
D - Deficiency: because it makes the immune system deficient
S - Syndrome: because someone with AIDS may experience a wide range of different diseases and opportunistic infections (infections that can be life-threatening for an AIDS patient, but that a healthy immune system would be able to control).
The average time between HIV infection and the appearance of signs that could lead to an AIDS diagnosis is 8-11 years.
Worldwide: As of December 2000, an estimated 36.1 million people living with HIV/AIDS
An estimated 5.3 million new HIV infections occurred in 2000.
In the United States: According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there are between 800,000 and 900,000 people living with HIV. Through December 2000, a total of 774,467 cases of AIDS have been reported to the CDC; of this number, 448,060 persons (representing 58% of cases) have died. (Source: Centers for Disease Control - CDC)
HIV can be transmitted from an infected person to another through:
Blood
Semen
Vaginal secretions
Breast milk
Activities That Allow HIV Transmission:
Unprotected sexual contact (of any kind)
Direct blood contact, including injection drug needles and blood transfusions (Note: Donated blood is always screened - at least, ever since 1985).
Mother to baby (before or during birth, or through breast milk)
Interesting fact that I wasn't aware of: Because of the potential for contact with blood during "French" or open-mouth, wet kissing, CDC recommends against engaging in this activity with a person known to be infected. However, the risk of acquiring HIV during open-mouth kissing is believed to be very low.
Several studies have demonstrated that latex condoms are highly effective in preventing HIV transmission when used correctly and consistently. These studies looked at uninfected people considered to be at very high risk of infection because they were involved in sexual relationships with HIV-infected persons. The studies found that even with repeated sexual contact, 98-100% of those people who used latex condoms consistently and correctly remained uninfected.
Stay Safe!
HIV is the virus that causes AIDS.
H - Human: because this virus can only infect human beings.
I - Immuno-deficiency: because the effect of the virus is to create a deficiency, a failure to work properly, within the body's immune system.
V - Virus: because this organism is a virus, which means one of its characteristics is that it is incapable of reproducing by itself. It reproduces by taking over the machinery of the human cell.
A - Acquired: because it's a condition one must acquire or get infected with; not something transmitted through the genes
I - Immune: because it affects the body's immune system, the part of the body which usually works to fight off germs such as bacteria and viruses
D - Deficiency: because it makes the immune system deficient
S - Syndrome: because someone with AIDS may experience a wide range of different diseases and opportunistic infections (infections that can be life-threatening for an AIDS patient, but that a healthy immune system would be able to control).
The average time between HIV infection and the appearance of signs that could lead to an AIDS diagnosis is 8-11 years.
Worldwide: As of December 2000, an estimated 36.1 million people living with HIV/AIDS
An estimated 5.3 million new HIV infections occurred in 2000.
In the United States: According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there are between 800,000 and 900,000 people living with HIV. Through December 2000, a total of 774,467 cases of AIDS have been reported to the CDC; of this number, 448,060 persons (representing 58% of cases) have died. (Source: Centers for Disease Control - CDC)
HIV can be transmitted from an infected person to another through:
Blood
Semen
Vaginal secretions
Breast milk
Activities That Allow HIV Transmission:
Unprotected sexual contact (of any kind)
Direct blood contact, including injection drug needles and blood transfusions (Note: Donated blood is always screened - at least, ever since 1985).
Mother to baby (before or during birth, or through breast milk)
Interesting fact that I wasn't aware of: Because of the potential for contact with blood during "French" or open-mouth, wet kissing, CDC recommends against engaging in this activity with a person known to be infected. However, the risk of acquiring HIV during open-mouth kissing is believed to be very low.
Several studies have demonstrated that latex condoms are highly effective in preventing HIV transmission when used correctly and consistently. These studies looked at uninfected people considered to be at very high risk of infection because they were involved in sexual relationships with HIV-infected persons. The studies found that even with repeated sexual contact, 98-100% of those people who used latex condoms consistently and correctly remained uninfected.
Stay Safe!
posted by captain obvious at 11:40 p.m.
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