...It’s unfortunate that amongst New York City unlimited diverse population, the African-American woman have steadily and continue to become affected with the HIV virus. Even though nowadays medication has shown improvement to treating HIV, more needed towards the prevention of becoming HIV-positive. Numerous factors must be addressed, and educational programs becoming readily available to the urban modern lifestyle’s that African American as well Women of all ethnicity partake. Change begins with acknowledgement and understandings. History of HIV/AIDS Over 33 million people around the world are infected with AIDS or Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome. Of which over a million people are infected with AIDS in the United States. At first, AIDS in the United States was considered a white gay man’s disease. In fact, AIDS was once referred to as “The Gay Plague” (Shilts, 1987). However, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported in 2005 that women now make up 26 percent of all new HIV/AIDS diagnoses. African American women are infected at even higher rates than Women of other racial and ethnic groups. In 2005, close to 127,000 women were living with HIV/AIDS. Black women made up 64 percent of those women living with HIV/AIDS. In 2004, HIV was the leading cause of death for black women aged 25-34 These statistics of AIDS among African American women are alarming. Yet awareness about HIV/AIDS among black women in the United States is minimal. Clearly, more attention...
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...Epidemiology Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is a virus spread through body fluids that affects specific cells of the immune system, called CD4 cells, or T cells. Over time, HIV can destroy so many of these cells that the body can’t fight off infections and disease (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 2015). HIV is spread when certain body fluids from an infected HIV individual: blood, semen (cum), pre-seminal fluid (pre-cum), rectal fluids, vaginal fluids, and breast milk; are transmitted through a mucous membrane or damaged tissue or be directly injected into the bloodstream. It is only under these specific conditions that HIV can be transmitted, it is not spread from causal contact with an infected individual. Early signs and symptoms include: fever, swollen lymph glands, sore throat, headache, malaise, nausea, muscle and joint pain, diarrhea, and a diffuse rash. In the progression of HIV, these symptoms worsen and additional symptoms include: localized infections, lymphadenopathy, nervous system manifestations, and the presence of oropharyngeal candidiasis (thrush). Other infections that can also occur include: shingles, persistent vaginal candida infections, outbreaks of oral or genital herpes, bacterial infections, and Kaposi sarcoma (KS). The biggest complication of HIV is the progression of the infection to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Numerous infections, a variety of malignancies, wasting, and dementia can result from HIV-related immune impairment...
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...HIV Epidemiology Patricia Mayer Grand Canyon University NRS 427V Sarah Hathcock April 25, 2015 HIV Epidemiology Human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV, is a virus that can lead to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, or AIDS. The body is not able to rid itself of the human immunodeficiency virus, so once a person has the virus, they have it for life (Center for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2015). Currently there is no safe or effective cure for HIV, but with the proper medical care, it can be controlled and drastically prolong the life of someone infected with HIV which can also lower their chances of infecting others with the virus. The virus attacks the T cells in the body and over time it can do away with so many of the cells that the body cannot fight off infections or diseases. It is at that point when HIV infections becomes AIDS (CDC, 2015). Causes and Symptoms HIV is believed to originally be caused by coming into contact with the blood of infected chimps and monkeys in Africa during butchering and cooking, which allowed the cross contamination into humans. HIV is a slow virus, which means it could take anywhere for five to ten years after infection for the symptoms to appear (Meyer & Adler, 2014). There are three stages of HIV and the person can transmit the virus during any stage. The first stage is acute infection it happens two to four weeks after infection with HIV, the person will have flu-like symptoms, during this stage large amounts of...
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...Human immunodeficiency virus infection / acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by infection with human immunodeficiency virus . During the initial infection, a person may experience a brief period of influenza-like illness. This is typically followed by a prolonged period without symptoms. As the illness progresses, it interferes more and more with the immune system, making the person much more likely to get infections, including opportunistic infections and tumors that do not usually affect people who have working immune systems. HIV is transmitted primarily via unprotected sexual intercourse, contaminated blood transfusions, hypodermic needles, and from mother to child during pregnancy, delivery, or breastfeeding. Prevention of HIV infection, primarily through safe sex and needle-exchange programs, is a key strategy to control the spread of the disease. There is no cure or vaccine; however, antiretroviral treatment can slow the course of the disease and may lead to a near-normal life expectancy. While antiretroviral treatment reduces the risk of death and complications from the disease, these medications are expensive and may be associated with side effects. Genetic research indicates that HIV originated in west-central Africa during the early twentieth century. AIDS was first recognized by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 1981 and its cause—HIV infection—was identified in the early part of the decade. Since its...
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...In this paper we will discuss several components about the Human Immunodeficiency Virus or better known as (H.I.V.). Some of the questions answered today are, How is (HIV) spread, once infected with the disease can it be cured and if not cured how well is it managed, We will also look at the beginning of the diseases life, what demographics are the most affected, the future of the disease and how much as a global community we have spent to combat (HIV). History (HIV) was first clinically observed in its most advanced form as Autoimmune Deficiency Syndrome better known as (AIDS) IN 1981. The first cases were a cluster of people who were using drugs intravenously and gay men with no known causes of impaired immunity showed symptoms of a rare and opportunistic pneumonia infection that presents itself when the immune system is compromised. Not too long after gay men started to develop Kaposi’s sarcoma a rare form of skin cancer. There were starting to be more and more cases of Kaposi’s sarcoma and pneumonia popping up all over the country. The spike in cases caused the Center for Disease Control (CDC) to form a task force. In the beginning the (CDC) did not have a name for the disease, the (CDC) often referred to it by associated diseases for example, lympadenopathy the original name of (HIV). The general media had coined the term GRID which stood for Gay Related Immunodeficiency Disease. The (CDC) had used the term the 4H disease, The (CDC) came...
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...Epidemiology Paper –HIV Human immunodeficiency virus is a retrovirus attack the cells of the immune system, and leads to the loss of immune function, results in the development of Acquired immune deficiency syndrome [AIDS]. The human retrovirus contains two copies of a 9,749- base ribonucleic add [RNA] molecule as its genetic material. There is an enzyme called reverse transcriptase carried by the virus transform the RNA genome into a DNA copy upon infection and this DNA copy integrates into human chromosome and is maintained in a form called provirus and once the provirus is integrated the infection is not reversible .Human immune viruses falls into the subgroup known as lent viruses or slow viruses that do not cause the state of disease for many years after the infection. The period of time between the between the HIV infection and the development of disease takes between five and ten years in an untreated person. This person can be infectious during this period. Human immunodeficiency virus transmits only through the body fluids including semen vaginal fluid and also human milk .That is why the primary mode of transmission is sexual transmission, repeated use of dirty needles by the intravenous drug users, needles used for tattoos and body piercing, and also the transmission is through the HIV contaminated breast milk or from a HIV positive mother to the newborn during child birth. In the early days of AIDS epidemic the blood and blood product transfusions were considered...
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...HIV Human Immunodeficiency Virus HIV Human Immunodeficiency Virus Suanchirae Williams Devry Unviersity BIO 260 Professor Daudi Langat Suanchirae Williams Devry Unviersity BIO 260 Professor Daudi Langat INTRODUCTION Growing up my little brother was the man of our house, a household of seven with my little brother being the only boy, such a heavy burden on such small shoulders. It seemed to be a role that he just woke up one day and assumed he needed to fill. My mother was a single mother of six children so she worked long hours every day which left me, being the oldest, as the secondary mother. It seemed to become my role as caregiver and my little brother, who is almost 5 yrs. younger than me, the protector. As we all grew up and started branching off into our own little worlds my little brother became a more private person. It was a surprise in late 2005 when he brought home a girl and announced her as his girlfriend and that he loved her. She was a great girl we all took a shine to her and welcomed her into our family. After a few months this new girlfriend decided it was time for us all to have a family meeting, there was something that she felt she needed to share with us all before anything more happened with her and my brother. She sat us all down and started to explain her family to us ending with her...
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...that most of the new cases pinpoint a major disparity between black women and women of other races. Cultural environmental and other factors that exacerbate the problem are high numbers of black men going to prison, the effects of the black church and the lack of government resources. In my research paper, I will identify the causes of HIV/AIDS and suggest solutions to prevent the spread of this disease among black woman. According to Mayo Clinic the definition of Human immunodeficiency virus is a virus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome in which the immune system in the body begins to fail causing life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to increase. Scientist has spent numerous of hours and millions of dollars to find a cure for this infection but nothing has begun to work. Development of the AIDS Epidemic Kaposi’s Sarcoma is a rare form of cancer often associated with AIDS tends to run in older people but in March of 1981 it was found to occur between young gay men...
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...there existed about eight instances reported of a contentious form of Kapos’s Sarcomi arrived in New York. In the article it spoke about five homosexual men that had come down with an unusual parasitic lung infection called Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia. About the same time there was an increase of Kaposi’s Sarcomi that was a rare form of benign cancer which was for the most part detected in older people. A while after the report outside of the Centers for Disease Control a task force was arranged in order to examine the abnormal increase of Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia and additional frequent life threatening opportunistic infections (AVERT, 2010). The New disease there was very little known about it, and it seems to be affecting the gay population. At first in the beginning it was a profuse belief around this disease that exist later explain inaccurate. A peculiar assumption was made in July 1981 by Dr. Curran of the Center for Disease Control. He made a statement saying that he believed that there was no apparent danger to non-homosexuals. Dr. Curran believed at that time there were no reports of the disease outside of the homosexual community or in women. Contrary in December of 1981 Dr. Curran was proven wrong when the first cases of Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia was...
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...Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) have been a hot-button issue, globally, over the last forty years. The global epidemic of HIV/AIDS was the greatest threat to human health and development since the bubonic plague (Mbewu, 2004). Millions of Americans have been affected, and HIV/AIDS continues to be one of the most feared and discussed diseases to date. HIV/AIDS have changed the way people live and produced many health policies, regulations, and restrictions that are used today. In the United States, approximately 50,000 individuals are diagnosed with HIV annually and 1.2 million individuals are living with HIV/AIDS (National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD and TB Prevention, 2012). The origin of HIV/AIDS is unknown, but it is estimated that hunters in Central Africa were contaminated with chimpanzee blood between the years of 1884 and 1925. The virus lay dormant and was harmless in the chimpanzee, but, when transferred to a human body, it became lethal. The history of HIV and AIDS in the United States did not begin until 1981. From it’s beginning, the virus swept through the nation hard and fast, causing...
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...Community Health-HIV Transmission and Prevention Kimberly Welch Grand Canyon University Concepts in Community and Public Health NRS-427V Jude Belmonte June 14, 2015 Community Health-HIV Transmission & Prevention One of the most complicated and complex communicable diseases in the world population today is human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). It is estimated that 78 million people have been infected and 39 million people have died worldwide since the virus was first identified ("AIDS statistics," 2015, para. 1). HIV is contracted by direct contact with contaminated blood or body fluids. This infection modifies and destroys the specific cells of the immune system ("HIV basics," 2015, para. 1). The result of HIV infection is the eventual progression to AIDS (Acquired Immunodeficiency Disease) (Klatt, 2015, p. 6). HIV and AIDS are commonly used interchangeably when discussing the disease processes in general terms, but there is a distinctive evolution that identifies the presence of HIV to the development of AIDS. Since HIV targets specific cells, massive cellular destruction leads to the state know as acquired immune deficiency syndrome ("HIV basics," 2015). HIV infection currently has no cure and once acquired. However, with early detection and use of new medication combinations, it can be managed ("HIV Treatment," 2014, para. 3). Epidemiology is the medical study of the causes and transmission of disease within a population. Epidemiologist target specific strategies...
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...Communicable Disease Communicable disease is an illness due to a specific infectious agent or its toxic products that arises through transmission of that agent or its products from an infected person, animal or inanimate reservoir to a susceptible host; either directly or indirectly through an intermediate plant or animal host, vector or the inanimate environment (UCLA, 2011). Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is a communicable disease that has become a global epidemic. This paper will give the reader a description of the disease, demographic of interest, describe the determinants of health, the epidemiologic triangle as it relates to AIDS. This paper will also discuss the role of community health nurse and organizations that have made an impact on AIDS education and research. The first report of AIDS in medical literature was in 1981 at this time AIDS was known as a disease associated with being gay, this quickly changed when further research revealed a transfusion recipient had been diagnosed as well as an infant in 1982 (UCSF, 2003). The cause of AIDS comes from human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) which destroys CD4 cells this weakens the bodies immune system, a patient could have HIV for many years before it progresses to AIDS. A person is considered to be infected with AIDS when their CD4 count falls below 200 or they show any of the following symptoms: * Tuberculosis * Cryptosporidiosis * Pneumocystis pneumonia * Cytomegalovirus * Toxoplasmosis...
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...Community and Public Health NRS-427v Dr. A. Cline-Owens, RN, Ph.D. December 14, 2015 Epidemiology: HIV Epidemiology is the science of studying the history, causes and treatment of diseases and infections. Epidemiological information is used by nurses to identify high risk populations with preventable health conditions (Maurer & Smith, 2013). Human Immunodeficiency Virus, also referred to as HIV, is a preventable sexually transmitted disease that requires persistent monitoring by healthcare professionals. Community health nurses play a pivotal role in supporting efforts against HIV by understanding and exploring the epidemiology of HIV through collecting, reporting and analyzing data related to the determinants of health. Simply put, HIV is a virus that attacks a person’s immune system. It specifically affects CD4 cells which are also called T cells. These cells are what the body uses for an immune response. HIV destroys the T cells that fight infection leaving the patient susceptible to immune system compromise. This results in the patient being open to opportunistic infections that lead to Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome. AIDS, as it is commonly referred as, is a progression of HIV after the CD4 count falls to 200 or less (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2015). HIV is transmitted by bodily fluids such as blood, semen, breastmilk, and vaginal secretions. Anal sex carries the highest risk of transmittal however blood transfusions, needle sharing and breastfeeding...
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...1981 a new disease by the name of AIDS (Acquired immuno deficiency syndrome) was diagnosed. AIDS was first discovered in major coastal cities such as New York, San Francisco, Miami, and Los Angeles. The Center for disease control and prevention (CDC) published in their morbidity and mortality weekly report on June 5th 1981 a report with a description of rare cases of Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP), a lung infection. Doctors from all over the United States recounted numerous similar cases as well as cases of a rare cancer known as Kaposi’s sarcoma. In these early reports it was noted that those affected were mostly gay men and intravenous drug users. It was because of this that many referred to the disease as GRID (Gay-Related Immune Deficiency). Later reports sprouted up of women, babies born to infected women, blood recipients such as hemophiliacs, as well as prostitutes and their customers all with the disease. Some children were even denied entry to school and when it was found they had the disease. When wealthy high profile victims started surfacing, the movie icon Rock Hudson for example, it was realized that AIDS is a disease that can affect anyone and is not just limited to a particular group of people. This realization set the stage for the anxiety of people toward what is now known as the Aids pandemic and put the world in a state of emergency. It is now know that HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) and AIDS go hand in hand. Researchers believe that the virus...
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...Communicable Disease HCS/457 June 18, 2012 Communicable Disease AIDS is a chronic, life-threatening conditions caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). HIV interferes with the body’s ability to fight off viruses, bacteria, and fungi that cause disease. HIV makes the infected person more susceptible to certain types of cancers and to infections the body normally would resist, such as pneumonia and meningitis. Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is the name given to the later stages of an HIV infection (Do Something, n.d.). HIV is transmitted from person to person via exchange of bodily fluids, including blood, semen, vaginal fluids, and breast milk, HIV can be spread by sexual contact with an infected person, by sharing needles/syringes with someone who is infected, through breastfeeding, during vaginal birth or less commonly through transfusions with infected blood. HIV has been found in saliva and tears in very low quantities and concentrations in some AIDS patients. However, contact with saliva, tears, or sweat has never been shown to result in HIV transmission (Wellness, 2012). Individuals who test positive for HIV do not necessarily have AIDS. Many individuals are HIV positive but do not show symptoms of illness for years. Individuals who do get AIDS can get very sick and die from infectious diseases and cancers that usually do not cause problems for other individuals. There is currently no cure for AIDS (Office of AIDS Administration, 2011). People with...
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