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North America – HIV/AIDs
Overview:
HIV/AIDS is an autoimmune disorder which is transmitted through an exchange of human blood.
Not only is HIV/AIDS a serious, and in many cases fatal, disease it is also the source of
discrimination against the infected in many areas. There are over 34 million adults and children
living with HIV/AIDS, of which 1.4 million are from North America. i When first introduced to the
United States, HIV/AIDS appeared to disproportionately infect homosexual males, thus it gained
a stigma of only being a disease that gay men caught. This severely contributed to the already
present homophobia in the United States. HIV/AIDS is often spread through the use of unclean or
shared needles by drug injectors. It is estimated that in the United States 50,000 people every
year contract HIV/AIDS. Since the discovery of the disease in the US over 650,000 people have
died from it.ii While HIV/AIDS is an important issue facing North America, it is crucial to remember
that it is also a global pandemic.
Containing the Spread of Diseases:
The key way that North America has tried to contain the spread of HIV/AIDS is through
education and awareness programs. In the U.S. approximately 16% of those infected with
HIV/AIDS are not even aware they have contracted the disease.iii Education campaigns focus
on safe sex as a manner for ending HIV/AIDS transmission as well as not sharing and always using
clean needles. In order to stop the introduction of new HIV/AIDS patients from abroad the
United States cracked down on foreign travelers in 1993 despite protests from advocacy groups.
In 2009 this travel ban was lifted around the same time as President Obama's reauthorization of
the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Bill. The Ryan White HIV/AIDS Bill, formally known as Ryan White
Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency Act, is the most noted of the government attempts
to control the HIV/AIDS problem in the United States. The act sought to provide care for low
income, un insured, or under insured HIV/AIDS positive people.
Managing the Long Term Consequences:
HIV/AIDS if left untreated is a fatal disease. HIV is fairly invisible when first contracted but this
period of latency varies from person to person and is usually between 5-12 years. Once the
disease has progressed significantly it is considered to be AIDS. The long term health implications
for an individual with HIV/AIDS revolve around securing effective treatment to prevent fatality.
The many organizations that look to support those with HIV/AIDS are striving towards a 0%
transmission rate and total elimination of the disease which can only be done through
education and awareness about HIV/AIDS.
Communication Issues:
Most communication issues surrounding HIV/AIDS derive from how it is contracted and who can
be infected by it. Misinformation has spread the idea that only gay men can contract HIV/AIDS
which has led to an increase in homophobia in the United States. World AIDS Day, held every
December 1st, is an international attempt to increase awareness, fight stigmas, increase
education, mobilize resources, and raise funds in order to reach to goal of 0 new HIV/AIDS
infections.iv
Finding and Providing and Inexpensive Cure:
Despite several fairly effective treatments for HIV/AIDS there is still no cure for the disease.
HIV/AIDS is particularly difficult to cure because of the nature of the disease. Once someone is
infected with the HIV virus is begins to replicate by inserting its own genetic code into human
cells, commonly called C4 cells. Current treatment methods have inferred with and slowed
down the replication process but have not been able to remove the virus entirely. One reason
why this is, according to AVERTing HIV and AIDS (an advocacy organization), is that
"Unfortunately, not all infected cells behave the same way. Probably the most important
problem is posed by “resting” CD4 cells. Once infected with HIV, these cells, instead of
producing new copies of the virus, lie dormant for many years or even decades. Current
therapies cannot remove HIV’s genetic material from these cells. Even if someone takes
antiretroviral drugs for many years they will still have some HIV hiding in various parts of their
body. Studies have found that if treatment is removed then HIV can re-establish itself by leaking
out of these “viral reservoirs”."v Until this problem can be solved an cost effective cure cannot be
mass produced and distributed.
Timeline:
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1981 the first cases of HIV/AIDS were misreported in North America. They were thought to
be a rare lung infection. By the end of the year 270 cases were reported among gay
men and 121 had died.
1982 the first AIDS clinic was created in San Francisco. The term AIDS was used for the first
time to indicated that this was a new threat to health. Instances of the disease were
reported among infants who had received blood transfusions.
1987 the AIDS Memorial Quilt is displayed in Washington DC for the first time bringing
awareness to the need for better care and equality for HIV/AIDS patients.
1990 Ryan White, a national spokesman for AIDS dies in April and in August Congress
enacts the Ryan White CARE Act.
1994 AIDS becomes the leading cause of death for all Americans age 24 - 44.
1998 the CDC issues the first national antiviral therapy treatment guidelines. The first
human vaccine trials are conducted in Thailand by the company VaxGen, by 2002 they
realized that the vaccine had failed to reduce overall HIV infection rates.
2007 the CDC reports over 565,000 people have died of AIDS in the U.S. since 1981. vi
i
http://www.avert.org/worldwide-hiv-aids-statistics.htm
http://kff.org/hivaids/fact-sheet/the-hivaids-epidemic-in-the-united-states/
iii
http://kff.org/hivaids/fact-sheet/the-hivaids-epidemic-in-the-united-states/
iv
http://www.avert.org/world-aids-day.htm
v
http://www.avert.org/cure-aids.htm#sthash.JAu1sozf.dpuf
vi
https://www.aids.gov/hiv-aids-basics/hiv-aids-101/aids-timeline/
ii