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challanges to hiv prevention
PREVENTION OF SPREAD OF HIV/AIDS
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Developing Antiviral Therapies to Cure HIV and AIDS
When the disease called aids was first discovered to be a virus in the 80’s, many pharmacies prepared for this widely spread disease by stocking up on antibiotics. These antibiotics however, were only designed to treat bacterial infections. It was at this time that scientist discovered that this disease was actually caused by a virus and not bacteria. Because the AIDS virus was so widely spread it prompted scientists to search for a way to cure diseases that were caused by viruses. We have since been in the process of discovering antiviral therapies that would cure HIV which is the cause of AIDS. In doing so, we have not only tripped upon ways to treat AIDS we may have also discovered ways to treat other viruses too.
One of these new developments is called viral genomics
Which basically makes sense of the sequence of nucleic acids in a viruses genetic code. This order of nucleic acids form the code for viral proteins that are basically the working parts of the viruses and control the virus. With this information scientists are able to learn how the individual viruses are able to cause disease in humans such as AIDS. Once the virus is decoded, scientists are then able to use computers to compare the virus to other viruses. This allows us to identify molecules in the virus that are worth targeting. There are stages that every virus must go through in order for it to infect the cell. During these steps the virus is extremely vulnerable and can be disrupted by pharmaceuticals. The first stage of the virus undergoes is binding. Binding is when the virus attaches to the cell and allows the virus do what is called fusion . This is when the virus and the cell membrane fuse, allowing the virus into the cell. Once the virus is in the cell, it then uncoats itself freeing viral genes and enzymes. After the uncoating stage the virus then goes through the fourth stage, called reverse transcription, in this stage copies of viral RNA and DNA are produced. Once the DNA is copied it then enters the nucleus of the cell and undergoes what is called genome integration where the viral integrase splices viral DNA into cellular DNA. Once the cellular DNA is made, the cell then uses the new DNA as a template for reproducing the HIV RNA genome.
By searching for the causative agent of infectious disease the focus can then be shifted into discovering preventative and treatment of the disease. Examples of this process are the outbreak of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) and bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). As published by McEwen & Wills (2011), BSE was identified as a protein transmitted through the ingestion of contaminated meat. Prevention and interventions were created as a result of the discovery of the protein. Comparably, AIDS, was first identified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in September of 1982, however, months passed before the causative agent was deemed a retrovirus later to be determined the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Even before the virus was isolated methods of transmission was recognized and interventions were acknowledged (McEwen & Wills, 2011).
Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) was first recognized as a new disease in 1981 when increasing numbers of young homosexual men succumbed to unusual opportunistic infections and rare malignancies (Gallant49).During this time, many people were contacting this disease because it was not discovered yet and people did not have knowledge about it.Scientists believe HIV came from a particular kind of chimpanzee in Western Africa. Humans contracted this disease when they hunted and ate infected animals. A first clue came in 1986 when a morphologically similar but antigenically distinct virus was found to cause AIDS in patients in western Africa (Goosby24). During this time, scientists had more evidence to support their claim about this disease. Once discovered this disease was identified as a cause of what has since become one of the most devastating infectious diseases to have emerged in recent history (Goosby101). This disease was deadly because it was similar to the Black Death, it was killing majority of the population. Since its first identification almost three decades ago, the pandemic form of HIV-1 has infected at least 60 million people and caused more than 25 million deaths ...
Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) represents a major public health concern in developing and developed nations alike, with an estimated 35.3 million people worldwide living with HIV1.One-third of a century’s worth of research has helped change HIV from a steady and certain killer into a relatively manageable infection when treated with appropriate care. However, the HIV puzzle is far from solved. 2012 estimates suggest acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS, caused by HIV) kills 1.6 million each year1. Reflecting the seriousness of the pandemic, the United States National Institutes of Health has made it a research priority, investing nearly three billion US dollars in HIV/AIDS research in 2013 alone—with similar amounts budgeted for future years2.
“Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a blood-borne virus typically transmitted via sexual intercourse, shared intravenous drug paraphernalia, and mother-to-child transmission (MTCT), which can occur during the birth processor during breastfeeding.” There is no cure for HIV or AIDS but over time different types of medications have been developed that slows down the advancement of the disease. AIDS is a lethal disease that is caused by HIV. HIV destroys the immune system and causes the body to not be able to fight off any diseases.
Although antiretroviral treatment has reduced the toll of AIDS related deaths, access to therapy is not universal, and the prospects of curative treatments and an effective vaccine are uncertain. Thus, AIDS will continue to pose a significant public health threat for decades to come.
“In 1980, a life-threatening human immune dysfunction of unknown origins was noticed in Central Africa, Europe, and the United States” (Poindexter, 2007, p. 6). In 1981, in the United States, the disease was first reported to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). HIV stands for human immunodeficiency virus. It is the virus that can lead to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, or AIDS. Unlike numerous other viruses, the human body cannot rid itself of HIV. That means that once you have HIV, you have it for life (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2013). Currently, no cure exists for HIV. Thankfully, with giant leaps in today’s medical and technological advancements in pharmaceutical research this disease is now considered to be a chronic condition. Today, with proper medical management and compliance the infected p...
HIV is the human immunodeficiency virus that causes AIDS. HIV infects human cells and uses the energy and nutrients provided by those cells to grow and reproduce.
So what exactly does AIDS mean? AIDS stands for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. This basically means that this syndrome is something you acquire after birth and not something that you inherit from your parents. It targets your immune system, which includes all the organs in your body that fight off infection and or disease, and causes it to not function properly ("What Is HIV/AIDS?," 2012). AIDS is a very complex disease that causes many different complications as well as symptoms. Some might not know that AIDS is in fact the final stage of the HIV infection. HIV is the Human Immunodeficiency Virus that can only infect human beings. This is similar to many other viruses like the flu but there is one very important difference. Our bodies for some reason are not able to get rid of this horrible virus and scientist are still trying to figure out why this is ("What Is HIV/AIDS?," 2012). This virus weakens your immune system by destroying cells that are important to fighting disease and infection ("What Is HIV/AIDS?," 2012). These cells are called T cells or CD4 cells. The way it works is that the virus invades the T cells to use them so that the virus can replicate itself and later destroys the cells ("What Is HIV/AIDS?," 2012). Once your body has lost many of these T cells your body can no longer fight infection or diseases and that’s when HIV leads to AIDS ("What Is HIV/AIDS?," 2012). So where did this syndrome and virus originate and how does it come to be you ask? Well scientist believe that HIV in fact may have come from Western Africa by means...
HIV/AIDS has become a pandemic virus because of how quickly it has spread throughout the entire world. HIV stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus, which means that it is a virus that attacks the immune system and it can only infect humans. HIV are like other viruses but there is an important difference, overtime your immune system can clear most viruses out of your body. HIV is different, the human immune system can’t get rid of it and scientist are still trying to figure out why our immune system can’t clear it. HIV hides in your body for long periods and it attacks a key part of our immune system, your CD4 cells or T cells. CD4 cells are a type of white blood cell that circulate around our bodies, scanning for cellular abnormalities and infections (www.tcells.com). Which your body must have to fight the virus. AIDS stands for Acquired Immuno Deficiency Syndrome, which means that AIDS is the cause of a different virus, which is HIV. Over 2.5 million people are infected with HIV worldwide. HIV/AIDS can be so deadly to humans because of the viruses capability if attacking our immune system. When HIV replicates itself ...
In the early 1980s, AIDS was first discovered, but the doctors and scientists at the time did not know how it was being spread. Multiple cases of Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia and Kaposi’s syndrome were being diagnosed in gay men who were immunodeficient, meaning they couldn’t fight off a simple infection. The disease then quickly spread to drug users and hemophiliacs (“Natural History of HIV/AIDS”). Many possible causes were considered, but none of them were correct. The sexually transmitted disease HIV was soon discovered to be the cause of AIDS, but even then, people were mistaken by how AIDS was truly spread. A doctor at Elmhurst General Hospital in New York City in 1985 believed AIDS could be spread by a few
According to the World Health Organization, HIV/AIDS is the leading infectious killer in the world with the death toll estimated around 36 million people (WHO, 2014). HIV stands for human immunodeficiency virus. HIV is very different from other communicable disease because the virus takes over cells in the body and weakens the immune system. It does that by destroying healthy, important cells that fight off disease and infection. The reason your immune system cannot fight this virus is still a question many scientists are seeking to answer, (AIDS, 2014). Scientists know that HIV is capable of being undetected in the cells of our bodies for long periods of time. The HIV virus invades our T cells, which are in charge of cellular immunity, and is able to duplicate itself in these cells and then destroy them. When too many T cells become destroyed the body is unable to fight off this virus, which leads to Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome or AIDS, (AIDS, 2014).
The lack of effective vaccines and antiviral drugs for AIDS has spurred speculation that the funding for AIDS research is insufficient. Although the actual amount of government funding for AIDS research is large, most of these funds are used for expensive clinical studies to evaluate new drugs. Many scientists believe that not enough is known about the basic biology of HIV and recommend shifting the emphasis of AIDS research to basic research that could ultimately result in more effective medicines.
Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) first came to light in 1981. There has been a long and arduous global effort on the prevention of HIV/AIDS. HIV is a virus that is spread through body fluids that affect the specific T-cells of the immune system. Without treatment HIV infection leads to AIDS and there is no cure for AIDS. HIV infection can be controlled and the importance of primary pre...
In 1981, a new fatal, infectious disease was diagnosed--AIDS (Acquired Immuno-Deficiency Syndrome). It began in major cities, such as New York, Los Angeles, Miami, and San Francisco. People, mostly homosexual men and intravenous drug users, were dying from very rare lung infections or from a cancer known as Kaposi’s sarcoma. They have not seen people getting these diseases in numerous years. Soon, it also affected hemophiliacs, blood recipients, prostitutes and their customers, and babies born from AIDS-infected women. AIDS was soon recognized as a worldwide health emergency, and as a fatal disease with no known cure, that quickly became an epidemic. When high-profile victims began to contract the virus, such as basketball star Magic Johnson, the feeling spread quickly that anyone, not just particular groups of people, could be at risk. AIDS impairs the human body’s immune system and leaves the victim susceptible to various infections. With new research, scientists think that the disease was first contracted through a certain type of green monkey in Africa, then somehow mutated into a virus that a human could get. AIDS is a complicated illness that may involve several phases. It is caused by a virus that can be passed from person to person. This virus is called HIV, or Human Immuno-deficiency Virus. In order for HIV to become full-blown AIDS, your T-cell count (number of a special type of white-blood cells that fight off diseases) has to drop below 200, or you have to get one of the symptoms of an AIDS-induced infection.
No cure or vaccine now exists for AIDS. Many of those infected with HIV may not