HIV/AIDS awareness
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Speaker: Katherine Watson
Approximately 2.7 million additional people are infected with HIV every year, and two million people die from AIDS every year according to an article on avert.org. And according to their statistics at the end of 2008 there were about 33 million people in the world living with HIV. HIV is human immunodeficiency virus which is the virus that causes AIDS. The term AIDS is defined as acquired immune deficiency syndrome. This speech is to inform you on the history, statistics, causes, symptoms and treatment of AIDS.
According to the AIDS timeline on aegis.com in 1959 scientists discovered the earliest case of AIDS. In 1978 in US and Sweden gay men and heterosexuals in Tanzania and Haiti started to show signs of what they later named AIDS. As of 1980 there were 31 deaths reported in the US up to 1981. In 1981 alone there were 234 deaths in the US caused by AIDS. The term AIDS was never used up until July 27th 1982 and this new disease was linked by the CDC to blood. In 1983 the CDC advised the warning of contaminated blood to blood banks. Also in 1983 France discovers the HIV virus. US discovered the HIV virus a year after France in 1984. The first antibody test was approved by the FDA (US) in 1985. In US and Japan this is when they began testing blood products. Also in 1985 president Ronald Reagan publicly mentions the word AIDS for the first time. Sex education is developed in 1986 after US Surgeon General Everett Koop provides a public report on AIDS. In 1987 AZT was the first HIV medication developed to treat AIDS this was not until 28 years after the first HIV/AIDS cases. AIDS coalition to unleash power (ACT UP) is a group of diverse non partisan (meaning non-democratic, non republican) group who get together to come up with ways to end the AIDS epidemic. Also there were 107 million copies of “Understanding AIDS” mailed out in the US. The first testing of multiple drugs was held in 1992. In 1997 it was told of the first possible case of AIDS through kissing was proven. It was also reported that the number of deaths has dropped. The total number of deaths cumulative in the US up until 2003 was 524,060.
On the avert.org website I found some very interesting statistics on the number of cases of AIDS in the US in 2007. In Portland Oregon there were 5,016 cases of AIDS total that is 8.6 per 100,000 people. The three highest were Miami Florida which was 33.1 per 100,000 people, New Orleans which was 31.5, and Washington which was 30.5. The states with the lowest numbers were North Dakota, South Dakota Montana and Wyoming. The total number of cases of AIDS in the US was 1,028,991.
The three main causes of AIDS as stated by medicinenet.com are sexual contact, sharing needles, and transmission from infected mothers to newborns during pregnancy and labor. The spreading through sexual contact is from one partner being infected, having multiple partners, or having unprotected sex. Sharing needles used for drugs steroids, tattooing and or piercings is another big way of passing AIDS. At the beginning of the aids discovery it was also common to have it transmitted during blood transfusions or blood products. This problem was lessened when they began testing blood before using it on other people. HIV/AIDS can also be caused by some casual contact such as kissing if an infected person has an open sore in their mouth. It can also be spread through sharing toothbrushes if someone is infected because of saliva or razors if someone is infected because of the spread of blood. Transmission from the mother to baby during pregnancy and labor is caused by the secretions and blood during the pregnancy and delivery.
Some of the symptoms of HIV/AIDS are flu-like or infectious mono-like symptoms. There are more common symptoms fever, aching muscles and joints, sore throat and swollen glands in the neck. Some people do not have symptoms and the reason for this is unknown. After the first phase of the HIV virus many people will become asymptomatic or not show symptoms. So there are multiple symptoms but not everybody gets the symptoms so not everyone is aware that they have the virus which is part of the reason it is spread so easily.
It is not proven there is a cure for HIV/AIDS. There are many treatment medications and you can also use antiviral therapy. Some of the common medications in pill form are Combivir, Trizivir, Epzicom and Truvada. Therapy is a commitment that takes a long time and requires taking you medications regularly on time every day not missing doses. This is by no means the only treatments but these are the main ones that are used.
In conclusion, AIDS is a very easily spreadable and contractible virus. It is easily controlled but there is not a specific cure. It was a pretty long and interesting time span for how it developed. There are many ways you can contract it like unprotected sex with a carrier, infected mother having a baby, and by using dirty needles. This is why there are so many cases and deaths in the US and other countries. And the treatments are still being perfected but there are many things to try to help control it just not cure it.
According to the AIDS timeline on aegis.com in 1959 scientists discovered the earliest case of AIDS. In 1978 in US and Sweden gay men and heterosexuals in Tanzania and Haiti started to show signs of what they later named AIDS. As of 1980 there were 31 deaths reported in the US up to 1981. In 1981 alone there were 234 deaths in the US caused by AIDS. The term AIDS was never used up until July 27th 1982 and this new disease was linked by the CDC to blood. In 1983 the CDC advised the warning of contaminated blood to blood banks. Also in 1983 France discovers the HIV virus. US discovered the HIV virus a year after France in 1984. The first antibody test was approved by the FDA (US) in 1985. In US and Japan this is when they began testing blood products. Also in 1985 president Ronald Reagan publicly mentions the word AIDS for the first time. Sex education is developed in 1986 after US Surgeon General Everett Koop provides a public report on AIDS. In 1987 AZT was the first HIV medication developed to treat AIDS this was not until 28 years after the first HIV/AIDS cases. AIDS coalition to unleash power (ACT UP) is a group of diverse non partisan (meaning non-democratic, non republican) group who get together to come up with ways to end the AIDS epidemic. Also there were 107 million copies of “Understanding AIDS” mailed out in the US. The first testing of multiple drugs was held in 1992. In 1997 it was told of the first possible case of AIDS through kissing was proven. It was also reported that the number of deaths has dropped. The total number of deaths cumulative in the US up until 2003 was 524,060.
On the avert.org website I found some very interesting statistics on the number of cases of AIDS in the US in 2007. In Portland Oregon there were 5,016 cases of AIDS total that is 8.6 per 100,000 people. The three highest were Miami Florida which was 33.1 per 100,000 people, New Orleans which was 31.5, and Washington which was 30.5. The states with the lowest numbers were North Dakota, South Dakota Montana and Wyoming. The total number of cases of AIDS in the US was 1,028,991.
The three main causes of AIDS as stated by medicinenet.com are sexual contact, sharing needles, and transmission from infected mothers to newborns during pregnancy and labor. The spreading through sexual contact is from one partner being infected, having multiple partners, or having unprotected sex. Sharing needles used for drugs steroids, tattooing and or piercings is another big way of passing AIDS. At the beginning of the aids discovery it was also common to have it transmitted during blood transfusions or blood products. This problem was lessened when they began testing blood before using it on other people. HIV/AIDS can also be caused by some casual contact such as kissing if an infected person has an open sore in their mouth. It can also be spread through sharing toothbrushes if someone is infected because of saliva or razors if someone is infected because of the spread of blood. Transmission from the mother to baby during pregnancy and labor is caused by the secretions and blood during the pregnancy and delivery.
Some of the symptoms of HIV/AIDS are flu-like or infectious mono-like symptoms. There are more common symptoms fever, aching muscles and joints, sore throat and swollen glands in the neck. Some people do not have symptoms and the reason for this is unknown. After the first phase of the HIV virus many people will become asymptomatic or not show symptoms. So there are multiple symptoms but not everybody gets the symptoms so not everyone is aware that they have the virus which is part of the reason it is spread so easily.
It is not proven there is a cure for HIV/AIDS. There are many treatment medications and you can also use antiviral therapy. Some of the common medications in pill form are Combivir, Trizivir, Epzicom and Truvada. Therapy is a commitment that takes a long time and requires taking you medications regularly on time every day not missing doses. This is by no means the only treatments but these are the main ones that are used.
In conclusion, AIDS is a very easily spreadable and contractible virus. It is easily controlled but there is not a specific cure. It was a pretty long and interesting time span for how it developed. There are many ways you can contract it like unprotected sex with a carrier, infected mother having a baby, and by using dirty needles. This is why there are so many cases and deaths in the US and other countries. And the treatments are still being perfected but there are many things to try to help control it just not cure it.
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