HIV and AIDS
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What is AIDS?AIDS stands for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. This is caused by the HIV virus, which attacks the immune system, the body’s “security force. The immune system is what the body uses to fight off infections. When it breaks down, you lose its protection, and become vulnerable to any disease which chooses to invade your body. Diseases which are not normally life-threatening (since the body normally fights them off) now become far more serious. These are often referred to as opportunistic infections. Before modern treatments were available, if someone with HIV got one of these illnesses they were said to have AIDS. However, AIDS is no longer a widely-used term and Doctors are more likely to call this 'late stage' or 'advanced HIV infection.’ |
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An estimated 1 million orphans (see statistics) in the country represent only a fraction of the population of children affected by AIDS. There are many cases where children are withdrawn from school to care for a sick relative. There are many families caring for orphans and many children who have had to become breadwinners to replace the income of a sick parent. By 2010, sub-Saharan Africa will be home to an estimated 50 million orphaned children, and more than a third will have lost one or both parents to AIDS, according to a biennial report on global orphaning released today by USAID, UNAIDS and UNICEF. Children on the Brink 2004 presents the latest statistics on historical, current and projected numbers of children under age 18 who have been orphaned by AIDS and other causes. The 2004 edition also stresses the importance of very distinct developmental needs that must be met as vulnerable children progress through early and middle childhood to adolescence. In just two years, between 2001 and 2003, the report states, the global number of children orphaned due to AIDS has risen from 11.5 million to 15 million – the vast majority in Africa. In Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, other regions covered by the the report, orphan numbers have dropped by around a tenth since 1990. |
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What is HIV?HIV is short for Human Immunodeficiency Virus. HIV attacks the body's immune system. Damage to the immune system makes it hard, or even impossible, for the body to fight off infections. Viruses work by infecting cells. On their own they do nothing. They are a little like a brain with no body. However, once they infect a cell, they cause trouble. HIV mostly attacks the white blood cells called T-cells, also known as T-helper cells or CD4+ cells. These are the cells which normally send the body’s immune system into battle, fighting off invading infections. The lower a person's T-cell count, the weaker their immune system will be. Once it has invaded the T-cell, HIV starts producing millions of little viruses, which eventually kill the cell, and then go off to infect and kill other cells. The drugs currently marketed to combat HIV all try to interfere with this process. |
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How is HIV passed on?Saliva, sweat and urine do NOT contain enough virus to infect someone. HIV CANNOT pass through intact external skin, or through the air like a cold or flu virus. In order to become infected, a sufficient amount of HIV must get into your blood. The body fluids which are likely to contain enough HIV to infect you are blood, semen, vaginal fluids (including menstrual blood) and breast milk. The main routes of HIV transmission in the UK are:
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How is HIV treated?There is no cure for HIV/AIDS at present, but there have been some quite staggering advances in treatment since the late nineties. Medications have been developed which are proven to be very effective in keeping HIV-positive people alive longer and in better health than was the case. In fact many are now able to lead relatively normal lives, when only five or ten years ago they would not have been able to do so. It sounds a bit simple to say that you need to be ready before you start treatment. But many HIV-positive people stay healthy and stable for a long time without any treatment at all. Don’t assume you need drugs as soon as you are diagnosed. You may, but equally, you may not. Different people react differently to different drugs. This is the case for people who do not have an HIV infection, and it is also the case for those who do. Anti-HIV drugs tend to be used in combination with other anti-HIV drugs, and at the beginning it will probably be a matter of informed guesswork as to which drugs and combinations work best for you. You may need to change combinations if there are side-effects, or if the treatment is not working as well as expected. Don’t worry. It is quite normal, and your doctor now has alternatives available. Some drugs only need to be taken once a day, and it is thought that it will soon be possible to take various drug combinations once a day, as well. In short, just as drugs vary, so do treatments. And they are getting easier. These days most drug combinations involve twice-daily doses, but the quantity of pills involved is dramatically reduced from only a few years ago. Dietary requirements are a lot easier as well. In fact, the situation is improving all the time. Slowly, but all the time. |
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How can I get tested?First of all you need to decide whether you should be tested. Think about the following questions:
The Terrence Higgins Trust have some useful booklets to help you decide. However, as a rough rule of thumb, it is nearly always advisable to be tested. If you do not have an HIV infection, you are going to be pleased about it. And knowing that you are HIV-positive is in fact the first step to staying healthy. You may or may not want to know whether you are infected with HIV, but it is a lot fairer on those with whom you come into contact. In the USA, they reckon that at least a quarter of those infected have no idea that they are carriers. As a result they are not getting the health care or the medication they need, and they are more likely to pass their infection on to others.
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Copyright Reserved Nasio Trust Website 2004 |
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HIV is a national disaster for the people of
Kenya. Both children and adults have been affected alike.
Kenya is estimated to have the ninth-highest prevalence of HIV in the
world with about 14 percent of the adult population infected.
