HIV AIDS – Scourge Of The 21st Century
AIDS, an incurable disease, made itself known in the last century and wreaked havoc globally. What do AIDS mean and do what do we really know about its effect on people?
AIDS is the acronym for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. This is an affliction that damages the immune system that brings other syndromes and infections brought about by the lowering of the immune system.
The virus that triggers AIDS is the HIV, which means Human Immunodeficiency Virus. Entry of the virus into the human systems sets off a long series of infections which continues until the patient dies.
To this date, no cure has been found yet for this disease. Current medications and surgical procedure are aimed to delay the progress of the disease. In 1981, AIDS has been declared as an official disease and recognized like the rest of the diseases. Sadly, number of deaths due to AIDS has increased geometrically. Based on the information released by the World Health Organization, AIDS claimed about 2.9 million lives in 2006 and infected 39.5 million worldwide.
What is really unfortunate is that the number of people infected increases year after year. Again, WHO says that the increase could come to about 4.3 million per year? In Africa, 20% or more of people in the 15-45 age groups are affected, while in the rest of the world, 1% is the ratio for the same age groups. Statistics present an alarming scenario that should get everybody’s attention. The HIV and its devastating effect on human lives would continue to haunt us unless people give more concern to its cause.
AIDS is the summation of all the diseases associated with HIV infection. This infection triggers the weakening of the immune system and until its final breakdown. Majority of all the infected and untreated persons will sooner or later develop the AIDS.
This has a devastating effect on the youth as they are the ones that are generally sexually active. However, other age groups are not exempt from the danger because the HIV is not only transmitted through sexual contact.
An infected mother can transfer the virus to the foetus. Consequently, the baby will be born, that is if the foetus completes the term, carrying the virus. The virus could be transferred to the baby through contact with the mother’s blood or through breast feeding.
Despite the worldwide attention it is getting and the application of the most sophisticated and state-of-the-art treatments, HIV continues to evolve and claim millions of lives, which leaves the scientific world stumped. Meanwhile the world is on standby while this 21st century epidemic continues to wreak havoc to the world’s population, especially on those innocent children.
