Today the diary writes December 1, 2021, World AIDS Day. World Epidemic Day, which began in the late 1970s, World HIV Day, World HIV-positive day, well done children.
Let's take the things from the beginning.
Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is the final stage of infection of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).
HIV interferes with the immune system and interferes with its function, making HIV-positive people more likely to develop infections such as opportunistic infections and tumors that usually do not affect people with functioning immune systems. This vulnerability gets worse as the disease progresses.
HIV is mainly transmitted through sexual contact, but science has shown that people with HIV who receive appropriate treatment do not transmit the virus even during contact. But we will talk about its treatment below.
Where did HIV come from?
Genetic research shows that HIV originated in South Africa during the 1970s. AIDS and its cause were first identified by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in 1981.
What is AIDS?
But let us clarify what AIDS is and what HIV is. People get HIV, an asymptomatic virus, and AIDS is the final stage of the virus.
The World Health Organization (WHO) first proposed a definition of AIDS in 1986. Since then, there have been a number of upgrades and extensions of the definition, up to its most recent version, in 2007.
- Early HIV infection: can be either asymptomatic or associated with acute retroviral syndrome.
- Stage I: asymptomatic HIV infection with a CD4 count greater than (>) 500 / μl (per microliter or cubic millimeter of blood). May include generalized swollen lymph nodes.
- Stage II: Mild symptoms that may include low-grade mucosal manifestations and recurrent upper respiratory tract infections. CD4 count less than (<) 500 / μl.
- Stage III: Advanced symptoms that may include unexplained chronic diarrhea for more than 1 month, severe bacterial infections including pulmonary tuberculosis, and CD4 count <350 / μl.
- Stage IV or AIDS: severe symptoms including cerebral toxoplasmosis, candidiasis (occasional fungal infection) of the esophagus, trachea, bronchi or lungs, and Kaposi's sarcoma. CD4 count <200 / μl.
HIV treatment
Although science has made huge strides in tackling HIV so far its treatment is not curable. Patients, if they detect the virus in the early stages and start treatment immediately, can reach the life expectancy of a healthy person, but they cannot eliminate the virus from their body.
According to Lydia Leonidou, pathologist-infectious disease specialist, Unit of Infections of the University Hospital of Patras, "antiretroviral treatment has evolved significantly, changing the natural course of the infection from a deadly disease to a chronic condition. It is given to all HIV-positive people as soon as possible. The treatment makes the virus undetectable, this is the first U in the equation U = U. The second means untransmissible, meaning the patient with effective treatment and undetectable viral load, which can not transmit the infection»
In addition, for seronegative individuals who may be at high risk of sexually transmitted infections (LOATKI + community) it is now possible to administer preventive treatment to significantly reduce the risk of infection (pre-exposure prophylaxis).
The stigma
People who are struggling with HIV unfortunately also have to deal with the stigma of HIV. Our society has linked the virus to minorities who have "lost their way" or who have not paid attention or who are constantly changing sexual partners. For some reason we still treat the HIV-positive in the margins, as if they are children of an inferior God.
"Patriarchy, Aurianism, homophobia and Christianity do not explain to children that HIV is a retrovirus, it is not a mental state, it is not a moral value, it is not an emotion, it is not a contract with loneliness and death. It is not avoided by prayer and monogamy but by precaution. It's not necessarily shame or pride. "
Erofili Kokkali, sexual health consultant at Athens Checkpoint, emphasizes: "The AIDS chapter is found in Hollywood movies, in the suspicious glances of colleagues, in the indiscriminate questions of friends, in brochures, in commercials, in books and on newspapers. However, it is not found in sex education textbooks with content such as: "Sexual practices", "Sexual orientation", "Consent and Self-disposition", "Contraception", "Orgasm".
In the Western world, where we have the privilege of living, the HIV epidemic has found its way. The global medical community aims to diagnose at least 90% of my people infected, receive timely treatment, and ultimately achieve an undetectable burden. In practice, this means that 90% of HIV-positive people will be able to have a healthy sex life without transmitting the virus. We are talking about a rather ambitious plan, but it is not something that can not be done. The light in the tunnel is visible.
Africa is dying of HIV
The light at the end of the tunnel is not visible from all parts of the world. From our neighboring Africa, for example, HIV has become a pandemic, where healing is a very distant paradise. These people are excluded from two very basic goods: education and health. Without access to drugs and medical care, they can neither detect nor fight the virus, while at the same time their immune system collapses and kills them.
However, education is just as important. The rest of the world closes its eyes to Africa, pretending it does not exist. And not only that, the problem is timeless.
I will take Greece for example. We are included in the "developed" countries, informative events happen all the time and people still do not know exactly what HIV is or how it is transmitted. Many even claim that the virus is transmitted through saliva. Most of us have never been tested for the virus, and many choose not to use a condom during sexual intercourse.
I'm sure older people do not know that "anyone who has had a blood transfusion before 1992 - when there were no HIV tests - should be considered a person with a significant chance of getting the virus". Especially in countries where they can not even imagine, the confirmed cases of HIV-positive (25 million) are minimal compared to the actual number. People do not know they have the virus but they do not do anything to protect themselves. Sex (consensual and non-consensual) without precautions prevails in over 90% of cases.
In short, if the West manages to reduce its stigma, it will be able to defeat the virus, but Africa seems to be sinking more and more into this "mud".
Let the numbers speak
Of the 37 million confirmed HIV-positive people, 25.4 million are found in Africa, while the next largest number is in America, with 3.7 million HIV-positive. In Europe the number is 2.6 million.
Rates show an increase in HIV-positive people in Africa but a decrease in the rest of the world.
Africa
- 25.4 million HIV-positive in 2020
- 880.000 new infections
- 460.000 deaths
America
- 3.7 million HIV-positive in 2020
- 150.000 new infections
- 45.000 deaths
Europe
- 2.6 million HIV-positive in 2020
- 170.000 new infections
- 40.000 deaths
Individual or political responsibility
For all of us its pandemic Covid-19 he was a thorn in the side of many things in our lives. Our daily lives and relationships had to be reassembled based on the data of the new pandemic. For HIV-positive people - who are already living in their own epidemic - things are quite different. They see the state taking tough measures to promote public health, something it did not do for their own illness.
They see society and the state beating with indifference. We talk about individual responsibility and the fact that we have to go for regular exams, but we do not talk as often about political responsibility and sexual education that are at "medieval" levels.
In recent years and after hardships and sufferings, people feel more comfortable talking about their sexuality, while still finding it difficult to find and learn about their sexual orientation. For me - as for many - the problem lies in school and how the school curriculum has excluded sex education and replaced it with abstinence education.
Maybe if instead of telling our children not to have sex we talked about its dangers and pleasures, without making them ashamed, these children would grow up to be conscious adults.
In addition we need to mention the prevention part again. If society had accepted those who were HIV positive, such as those who were HIV positive Covid-19, then surely prevention, either with regular checkups or with medication, would bring other results.
Once again we come to the following question: where does political responsibility begin and where does national responsibility end? We think that something that happens in another part of the world does not affect us. We probably need to pay more attention as we go to school.
For those who live and fight HIV every day, for those who have managed to make it undetectable and for those who have recently discovered that they are HIV positive, this day is worth it. Well done and good strength.
It may be that your neighbor is HIV positive, do not make him afraid to say it. Let's invest in prevention and information.
Source: edaily