AIDS: Research By Ghinna Fondinka

Description Of AIDS This is the late stage of a spectrum of conditions or infections. It is caused by HIV(Human Immunodeficiency Virus) There are three main ways in which this disease can be transmitted to other people AIDS stands for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. There is no known cure. Lets look at the methods of transmission in detail:

Description Of AIDS

Method 1: Sexual Contact This is the most frequent method of transmission Originally, people thought that this disease was transmitted with only homosexuals, but was discovered to be transmitted by unprotected sex The risk of transmission is also higher in the presence of many sexually transmitted infections and genital ulcers Commercial sex workers, rough sex, and sexual assaults are factors that have an increased chance of AIDS

Method 2: Body Fluids This transmission is mainly due to blood and blood products It is less frequent than sexual contact This can be through needle use during intravenous drug use, transfusion of contaminated blood, or use of unsterilized equipment during drug infection About 93% of blood transfusions using infected blood makes HIV highly transmissible.

Method 3: Mother-to-child This is the least frequent method of transmission HIV can be transmitted from a mother to a child either during pregnancy, delivery, or through breast milk However, with appropriate treatment the possibility of transmission is extremely low. Even though it isn't frequent, it’s still possible.

Methods Of Transmission

Signs And Symptoms Signs and symptoms of this disease include: Acute Infections such as: Fever Throat inflammation Rashes Headache Influenza like illness Swollen lymph nodes Other signs and symptoms include Pneumocystis pneumonia Cachexia Cancer Kaposi’s sarcoma Conjunctival cancer Prolonged fevers Night sweats Weight loss Diarrhea

Symptoms & Signs

Prognosis Over the years, AIDS has become a more chronic disease It varies between people Without treatment, the average survival time for a person is 9 to 11 years. However, it depends on the HIV type. After AIDS has been diagnosed, without treatment, the victim can survive between 6 to 19 months However appropriate prevention of opportunistic infections increases survival by 80% Therefore it raises life expectancy from 20 to 50 years However, if the treatment is started late, the outcome may not be as good In summary, if treatment is not done earlier after diagnosis, the patient may not live as long

Prognosis

Effect Of AIDS Education Education has been identified has a common, social vaccine against AIDS Effective AIDS education has prevented new infections and equipped individuals with knowledge to protect themselves against AIDS This is done by providing people with information about AIDS and how it is transmitted This education is EXTREMELY IMPORTANT because AIDS has affected so many parts of the society and so everybody has to be aware of this disease

Standard Precautions These are a series of infection control practices used to prevent transmission of diseases that can be acquired by contact They include: Hand Hygiene: To prevent contact of contaminated AIDS blood Cleaning and Disinfection: Always be clean and sterilize needles before use Personal Protection Equipment: Abstain from unprotected sex Needlestick and Sharp Injury Prevention: Always keep away from sharp objects