HIV AIDS - DEADLY DISEASE OF THE CENTURY
Over the centuries human population has witnessed several epidemic diseases like
Plague, Smallpox, Cholera, TB, Cancer, Gonorrhea, Syphilis, and Malaria which has
challenged the human existence. Among these the most heart wrecking & devastating
disease is AIDS which came into existence in the year 1981. Most of the above
mentioned diseases has found curable medicines but for diseases like AIDS & Cancer for
which the search for proper cure is still going on. In India, as elsewhere, AIDS is
perceived as a disease of "others" - of people living on the margins of society, whose
lifestyles are considered "perverted" and "sinful". Discrimination, stigmatization and
denial are the outcomes of such values, affecting life in families, communities,
workplaces, schools and health care settings.
HIV/AIDS
AIDS means Acquired Immuno Deficiency Syndrome. It is caused by a virus called as
HIV - Human Immunodeficiency Virus. This virus damages the immune system of the
body. Once the immunity of the body decreases, different pathogenic organisms like
bacteria, fungi, virus & other parasites attack the body & causes several diseases. Even
Cancer can occur due to reduced immunity & multiple infections.
Statistics of HIV/AIDS
Above 65 million people worldwide
are infected with HIV. More than 25
million have already died of this
deadly disease.
The UN report on the progress of the
global epidemic estimates that our
country with 5.7 million HIV/AIDS
infected has overtaken South Africa
which has 5.5 million HIV/AIDS
infected people.
Men & women are equally affected
by this disease who are mostly within
the age of 15- 49 years.
Fig 1.HIV/AIDS affected regions in India.
Signs and symptoms
The symptoms of HIV and AIDS vary, depending on the severity of infection. During
initial stage the person may not show any symptoms. But after several weeks of infection
flu like illness is commonly noticed.
The chronic symptoms are usually characterized by fever, weight loss, headache, sore
throat, swollen lymph nodes (often one of the first signs of HIV infection), Diarrhea and rash
which are similar to those of other common diseases.
During the last phase of HIV more serious symptoms may begin to appear such as:
Pneumonia.
Persistent, unexplained fatigue.
Soaking night sweats
Shaking chills or fever higher than 100 F for several weeks
Swelling of lymph nodes for more than three months
Chronic diarrhea
Persistent headaches
Children who are HIV-positive often fail to gain weight or grow normally. As the
disease progresses, they may have difficulty walking, delayed mental development,
childhood illnesses such as ear infections, pneumonia and tonsillitis etc.
Spread of virus
Once the HIV virus enters the body it’s the main target is the immune system. The
virus multiplies in lymph nodes and slowly begins to destroy helper T cells called as
CD4 lymphocytes of immune system.
The virus attaches to the cells and then enters into
it & inserts its own genetic material into the CD4
lymphocytes and uses the material to make copies
of it. In this process, more than 10 billion new
HIV particles are produced every day. To counter
this huge virus production, our immune system
turns out as many as 2 billion new CD4 cells
daily. Eventually, the virus wins this race. The
number of CD4 cells in our body progressively
decreases, developing severe immune deficiency.
Fig 2.Anatomy of HIV virus.
Transmission of HIV
HIV infection can occur in several ways, including:
Sexual transmission: People having vaginal, anal or oral sex with an infected
partner. If a person already has another sexually transmitted disease, then he/she
is at much greater risk of contracting HIV.
Transmission through infected blood: In some cases the virus may be
transmitted through blood and blood products including whole blood, packed red
cells, fresh-frozen plasma and platelets received in blood transfusions.
Transmission through needle sharing: HIV is easily transmitted through
unsterilized needles, dental or surgical equipment contaminated with infected
blood.
Transmission from mother to
child: Each year nearly
700,000 infants are infected
with HIV, either during
pregnancy or through breast-
feeding.
Fig 3. Usage of sterilized syringes
Misconceptions about spread of HIV
HIV can't be infected by an AIDS patient through ordinary contact like —
Hugging, dancing or shaking hands.
Coming into contact with the sweat or tears.
Sharing food, utensils, towels or bedding, a swimming pool, a telephone or a toilet seat.
Being bitten by bedbugs or mosquitoes.
Kissing someone who has AIDS. Although HIV is sometimes found in the saliva, it
occurs in low concentrations. In addition, natural inhibitory substances in saliva help to
prevent transmission of the virus.
Risk Factors
Anyone, anywhere, of any age, race, sex or sexual orientation can be infected, but people at
greatest risk are those:
Having unprotected sex with multiple partners. Whether the person is
heterosexual, homosexual or bisexual. .
Having another sexually transmitted disease, such as Syphilis, Herpes,
Chlamydia, Gonorrhea or Bacterial vaginosis.
Diagnosis
HIV is usually diagnosed through Enzyme-Linked Immuno Sorbent Assay (ELISA) test
& Western blot test to know the presence of virus. For this test samples of blood, urine,
saliva, or buccal swab is taken & in that CD4 cell counting is made which confirms the
HIV infection.
Complications
HIV infection weakens immune system, making the body highly susceptible to a large
number of bacterial, viral, fungal and parasitic infections.
Bacterial infections
Bacterial infections like Pneumonia, Tuberculosis, Salmonellosis etc can be caused.
Viral infections
Virus infections like Cytomegalovirus, Viral hepatitis, Herpes simplex virus & Human
papillomavirus can be caused.
Other infections
Fungal infections like Candidiasis, Parasitic infections can be caused.
Cancers
Certain cancer like Kaposi's sarcoma, Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma is also noticed.
AIDS can also result in direct/indirect Infertility.
Treatment
Patient’s response to any treatment is measured by the levels of HIV in blood (viral load).
Antiretroviral drugs inhibit the growth and replication of HIV at various stages of its life
cycle. Several classes of these drugs are available:
Nucleoside analogue reverse transcriptase inhibitors.
Protease inhibitors.
Non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors.
Nucleotide reverse transcriptase inhibitors.
Fusion inhibitors
Prevention
There's no vaccine to prevent HIV infection and no cure for AIDS. But it's possible to
protect ourselves and from infection. The only foolproof way to protect others from
infection is to avoid practices that expose them to blood, semen or vaginal secretions,
breast milk etc & mostly by educating about HIV/AIDS.
Measures to be taken to curb the spread of disease
The following measures can help to avoid being infected with HIV:
Educate yourself and others.
Know the HIV status of any sexual partner.
Use of condom.
Use of clean sterilized needle.
Get regular screening tests.
Conclusion
If more is not done to fight the HIV/AIDS, it is on course to be one of the worst in
history, with millions more people estimated to become infected by the end of this
decade. The HIV/AIDS pandemic presents political, economic, public health, social and
scientific challenges to nations. This is not just to protect from the infection but also to
ensure to get the best possible medical care so that maximum effort is done to curb the
growth of HIV/AIDS.