WHAT DOES AIDS MEAN?
AIDS means Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome
- Acquired means you can become infected
- Immune Deficiency means that the body system that fights diseases is weakened
- Syndrome refers to a group of health problems that make up a disease
AIDS is caused by a virus called HIV, Human Immunodeficiency Virus. If you become infected with HIV, your body will try to fight the infection and produce "antibodies", special molecules whose function is to destroy HIV.
WHAT IS HIV?
HIV or Human Immunodeficiency Virus is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system of the infected person. The immune system is the natural defense of our body against infectious microorganisms, such as bacteria, viruses and fungi capable of invading our body.
In particular, HIV attacks and destroys CD4 lymphocytes, which are a type of cells that are part of the immune system and that are responsible for the manufacture of antibodies to fight infections caused by these external agents.
An innovative therapy developed in Britain that seeks the virus throughout the body and exterminates it would be able to eradicate it from the body.
The world could be on the verge of having the cure against HIV. The possibility of declaring the defeat of this fearsome virus occurs thanks to the case of a British man who received an innovative treatment that could have completely eradicated his body.
The therapy in question was developed by experts from the most prestigious universities in Britain, and for the first time has the ability to search the virus in all corners of the body, including sleeping cells that manage to evade the current drugs, and destroy it.
At the moment there are 50 people in a clinical study with this therapy and one of them has already completed the treatment scheme. This is a 44-year-old man who, according to preliminary tests, has no trace of the virus in his blood.
So far it is believed that only Timothy Brown, who became infected with the virus in 1995, is the only person who has been cured of HIV. The reason is that he suffered from myeloid leukemia for which he received a bone marrow transplant, but from a donor who was immune to the disease. So Brown was cured of both evils simultaneously.
If in a few months it is confirmed that even the British man virus is undetectable and the treatment has eradicated the virus from his body, one could speak of a cure. This wait is necessary because there is a possibility that the results of blood tests are due to the use of anti retroviral drugs that also reduce the virus count in the body, albeit temporarily.
When the person is positive for HIV, the target of the virus is to attack the T cells of the individual's immune system. Once it is introduced into their DNA, it becomes a kind of HIV factory. These copies of the virus are ready to attack other T cells. So far, antiretroviral drugs seek to torpedo this stage of replication of the virus. However, HIV has the ability to hide in other cells of the body and the type of therapies that are currently used are not able to detect the virus in these hiding places. The new therapy does take it out of those trenches to the virus so that it can attack.
For this patients should receive a vaccine that enhances the ability of the immune system to attack these cells infected with the virus. Then they receive a drug known as Vorninostat that activates sleeping T cells to produce proteins that can be recognized by the immune system. When left in evidence, the body's defense cells would destroy them.
"This process has worked in the laboratory and there is great evidence that it will work with humans," Sarah Fidler, a researcher at Imperial College London, told The Sunday Times. However, many think that even the world is far from this translating into a therapy for HIV sufferers today. Clinical studies will continue for five years because until there is complete evidence that the new therapy works experts do not recommend discontinuing antiretrovirals.
The work was carried out by a consortium of universities including Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial College London, University College London and King's College London
AIDS: from deadly to chronic disease
Thanks to advances in treatment, millions of people today can live with the disease without affecting their quality of life.
"AIDS is taking more lives than the sum total of all wars, famines, floods and the ravages of deadly diseases." This is how Nelson Mandela described in 2000 the pandemic disease caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), when the XIII International AIDS Conference was held in Durban, South Africa. 16 years later, this coastal city is once again the venue of the event, but the panorama has changed a lot, since mortality rates have decreased and AIDS is considered a chronic disease that has no cure, such as hypertension or diabetes.
Although there is still a high level of incidence or new cases that has remained constant during the last decade, with 2.6 million people contracting the virus every year in the world, today "the epidemic is at a stage of controlled phase. Now we have much safer drugs with fewer side effects and they manage to contain the replication of the virus, "Carlos Álvarez, an infectious disease specialist at the Colombia University Clinic (Colsanitas clinics) and professor of infectology at the National University of Colombia, told Semana.
The antiretroviral drugs used by patients with HIV help the virus, which is a living organism, not replicate in its different stages. Even some, like protease inhibitors, prevent its maturation to prevent it from transforming into AIDS. Previously, a seropositive patient had to consume several tablets a day to stay stable and out of danger, but as of 2010 "drugs appeared that should only be consumed once a day," says Álvarez.
This type of treatment allows patients to have an expectation of life almost identical to that of the general population. Although the virus can not be eradicated, it is possible to prevent the infected cells from allowing the replication of the infectious agent.
Additionally, current medications not only prevent the disease from advancing, but can reverse it, and even reduce the risk of transmission of the seropositive mother to her son thanks to "the measures taken during pregnancy, before delivery and after birth of the baby, "explains Álvarez. The risk of a seropositive patient transmitting the disease in a sexual relationship also decreases ostensibly.
The most important thing to take advantage of this is that patients are judicious with the treatment, because if they are not constant they can get very sick and even lose the land gained after they have recovered. The first step, of course for any person, if you have an active sexual life, is to have the test to rule out that you are a carrier of the virus and, if you test positive, undergo treatment to reduce the risk of complications, including AIDS.
Improve access to treatment, the greatest challenge
HIV is a silent sexually transmitted disease that can last several years in the body and if the patient does not take the diagnostic test he is at high risk of developing AIDS. "This is still a very stigmatized disease in society and many people do not perform the test because of grief or because they trust their partner fully," Ricardo García, coordinator of Education Projects of the Colombian League for Combating AIDS.
HIV INFECTION
In Colombia there is still much to improve in mortality figures and, above all, access to treatment, as it is very difficult for the population of the most remote regions. That is why the most important thing is to promote the test for the person with an active sexual life. "Currently within the Obligatory Health Plan (POS) there is the possibility of doing it free twice a year. The screening lasts only 15 minutes, "Garcia adds.
Ban Ki-moon, secretary general of the United Nations (UN), recalled this week in Durban that there are still 20 million people who do not have access to treatment and 13 million who do not receive the necessary care. However, having medications or access to treatment does not mean that an epidemic can be controlled. Much less one of sexual transmission, because sexuality is "one of the most complex human behaviors," says Álvarez.
While waiting for the release of drugs that are vaccines that prevent infection or that cure people living with HIV or AIDS, the current goal of international organizations such as UNAIDS is the policy of 90-90-90. This means that 90 percent of people with HIV are diagnosed, that 90 percent of them are in treatment and that 90 percent are in the undetectable stage, that is, that the virus does not replicate. The goal of international and scientific organizations is to end AIDS by 2030.
AIDS: the devastating disease of the 21st century
According to the report published last June by UNAIDS, it is estimated that 34.3 million people, including 1.3 million children, lived with HIV / AIDS at the end of 1999.
According to the report published last June by UNAIDS, it is estimated that 34.3 million people, including 1.3 million children, lived with HIV / AIDS at the end of 1999. The estimated number of deaths caused by AIDS is close to 19 million, of which about 4 million correspond to children under 15 years of age. The majority of recorded infections have occurred in Africa (approximately 25 million) and in Southeast Asia (5.8 million). During 1999, there would have been about 6 million new infections. Heterosexual transmission and mother-child transmission have increased significantly during the last five years. Approximately 600,000 children were born with the infection in 1999; 67 percent in Africa, 30 percent in Southeast Asia and 3 percent in countries of Latin America and the Caribbean.
Given this panorama, it is evident that the HIV / AIDS pandemic is currently composed of several epidemics, each with its own characteristics and tendencies, predominantly affecting developing countries, where HIV quickly spread among the so-called HIV / AIDS groups. risk, then transmitted with progressive acceleration among the general population.
About 75 percent of the infections registered worldwide, were acquired through sexual contact and most of these by heterosexual contact. Receptive anal sex is considered the most efficient form of sexual transmission. This practice is frequent not only between homosexual and bisexual men, but between heterosexual couples, which can be an important factor in the rapidity with which the epidemic has spread among the heterosexual population of most Latin American and Caribbean countries and in some cases. Asian cities.
The probability of transmission of HIV through penile-vaginal contact is relatively low, estimated between 1 percent and 1 per thousand. However, this probability increases significantly in the presence of well-defined factors such as the advanced state of immunodeficiency in the sexual partner (higher viral load in the genital fluids), sexual contact during menstruation, cervical ectopion, lack of circumcision and the presence of other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Numerous studies have shown that the presence of other STDs such as gonorrhea, syphilis, canker and genital herpes, increase the risk of HIV transmission. Likewise, HIV infection modifies the natural course of other STDs and negatively affects the response to conventional treatments. This interaction between HIV and other STDs has important implications from the perspective of public health, as evidenced by the significant decrease in the incidence of HIV infection, produced by educational interventions and early diagnosis and treatment of STDs, aimed at groups of sex workers in some African countries. (7, 8).
Approximately 15 percent of the infections reported globally have been acquired by mother-child transmission. The risk of vertical transmission of HIV varies between 13 and 50 percent. The highest frequencies have been reported in African countries (30-50%). The use of antiretrovirals during the second and third trimester can reduce these figures to less than half. Between 30 and 50 percent of infections occur early in-utero and the remaining percentage during the perinatal period. The main factors associated with a higher frequency of mother-child transmission are the advanced state of immunodeficiency of the mother and breastfeeding. It has been proven that elective cesarean reduces the risk of vertical transmission.
The transfusion of blood and blood products is the most efficient form of HIV transmission, with a probability of infection close to 100 percent. The number of infections occurred in this way has decreased notably in most countries of Asia and America (less than 5 percent of the total registered cases), thanks to the progressive improvement of blood bank control. However, this form of transmission is still common in several African countries, where blood and blood product control systems are limited.
The shared use of syringes, needles and other instruments used during the intravenous administration of illicit drugs is the most frequent form of blood transmission in industrialized countries and in some countries of Asia and Latin America (Argentina and Brazil). In Europe, cases of AIDS in intravenous drug users constitute 43 percent of the total registered among adolescents and adults during the last seven years.
AIDS in the Americas
Up to February of the 2.00, a total of 1'062.629 AIDS cases in the Americas have been reported, of which 19.769 correspond to children (1.8 percent). Since 1986 there have been about 530,000 deaths due to AIDS.
North America
Since the beginning of the epidemic, between 1.3 and 1.5 million HIV infections have occurred in North America. Until December 1999, about 920,000 cases had been reported in the North American countries. United States and approximately 20,000 cases in Canada. During 1999, approximately 44,000 new infections were registered, half of which occurred in intravenous drug users. The demographic changes in the behavior of the epidemic have been significant in the North American countries. The incidence of AIDS in the current decade has increased more among the black and Hispanic population than in the white population and more in women than in men. Women constitute the group in which the number of new registered cases grows fastest. In the United States, the number of women with AIDS corresponded to 7% of the cases registered in 1986, while the group of homo-bisexual men contributed 72%. By 1988, 10% of cases corresponded to women and 64% to homo-bisexual men. In 1999, 20% were women and 57% homo-bisexual men. The rapid increase in heterosexual transmission is evident, surpassing parenteral transmission in women addicted to intravenous drugs, which was, until 1993, the main form of infection in the female population.
The Caribbean and Central America
Heterosexual transmission has predominated in the Caribbean countries since the beginning of the epidemic (86 percent of total registered infections). With marked differences between countries, the incidence rates of AIDS reported annually continue to increase throughout the sub-region. Rates higher than 100 per 100,000 inhabitants are recorded in Haiti, the Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda and Trinidad and Tobago. In recent years, the number of infections reported in the sub-region has doubled, of which 85% were registered in Haiti and the Dominican Republic. The lowest prevalence rate is reported by Cuba (0.02 percent). In Haiti, the behavior of the epidemic is of particular importance, since it has the highest prevalence rates among the general population (close to 10 percent in urban areas and 5 percent in rural areas).
In Central America there is a transition towards the predominance of heterosexual transmission. Since 1990, the number of AIDS cases in women has increased almost 40 times. However, the differences between countries are still evident: while in Honduras and El Salvador, around 80% of the AIDS cases recorded correspond to heterosexual transmission, in Mexico and Costa Rica the transmission between homo-bisexual men still predominates.
South America
Until December 1999, the number of AIDS cases reported by the South American countries represented 15.5 percent of the total cases reported in the Americas to PAHO and 8.2 percent of the total number of infections registered worldwide. However, the actual incidence must be much greater, taking into account the existing limitations in the national registration and notification systems. It is estimated that 1.3 million people lived with HIV / AIDS in Latin America, at the end of 1999. Sexual transmission accounts for 7 percent of total registered infections (51 percent homo / bisexual and 23 percent heterosexual), 19 percent corresponds to intravenous transmission between users of illicit drugs and 7 percent to perinatal transmission and blood transfusions. Brazil contributes the majority (75 percent) of AIDS cases registered in South America, followed by Argentina and Colombia. Transmission among intravenous drug users is higher in Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay, where it accounts for about 30 percent of cases.
Life cycle of HIV
In most countries there is an accelerated transition from the predominance of homo-bisexual transmission to the predominance of heterosexual transmission. In Colombia, particularly in the northeastern zone and in the Caribbean region, heterosexual transmission has prevailed for five years, while transmission in the central Andean area continues to predominate among homosexual men. In Peru, this transition to the predominance of heterosexual transmission is slower and the epidemic is concentrated even among the traditional "high risk" groups. In Brazil and Colombia, there is also a progressive expansion of the epidemic from large urban areas to small towns and rural areas. In Argentina, Peru and Bolivia, the epidemic is still predominantly located in large urban areas.
Prevalence studies in specific groups show marked differences between the groups of "high" and "low" risk studied in the different countries; 27 percent in women sex workers and 23 percent in homosexual men in Brazil; 3.3 percent in patients who consult for other STDs in Barranquilla and 0.7 percent in pregnant women in Cali, Colombia; 0.3 percent in military personnel and 10 percent in sex workers in Peru; 15 percent in homosexual men in Argentina. These figures demonstrate once again the heterogeneity that has characterized the behavior of the epidemic in recent years.
According to the UNAIDS report, 90 percent of the new infections that occurred in 1999 would correspond to the developing countries. Because it mainly affects men between 15 and 45 years of age, a growing number of women of reproductive age and newborns, it is not difficult to predict that AIDS will be, in the medium term, one of the first causes of years of healthy life lost. In the most affected African countries, it now ranks fifth, ahead of malaria, measles, pneumonia and tuberculosis. The losses in agricultural and industrial production will severely affect the gross domestic product (GDP) of countries that already face critical socio-economic situations. The economic burden represented by the provision of antiretroviral drugs to all individuals diagnosed early and the cost of care for AIDS patients, exceeds the capacity of public health and social security systems in developing countries. In Thailand, for example, 1 percent of available hospital bed days were dedicated to AIDS in 1991, a figure that rose to 10 percent in 1999. In Chile, the annual cost of caring for an AIDS patient in hospitals in the sector public is estimated at US $ 4,200. The profound impact of the disease on family nuclei is aggravated by the cost of medications to treat associated infections, the early death of those who support the family economy and the growing number of orphans possibly already infected and close to developing the syndrome of severe immunosuppression. The huge differences in rates of HIV infection and AIDS mortality among rich and poor countries? particularly between Africa and the rest of the world - will continue to expand in the present century. While there are no solutions available to the most affected populations, AIDS is potentially the most devastating disease of the 21st century.
Source :
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https://www.infosida.es/que-es-el-vih
http://www.aidsinfonet.org/fact_sheets/view/101?lang=spa