HIV/AIDSHIV stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus and if not treated can lead to AIDS (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome. HIV attacks the CD4 cells that help fight off infections in the immune system and reduces them, making it harder to fight off infections. Over time, so many cells can be destroyed that the body cannot fight off any infections or diseases at all. What is so dangerous about HIV is that once you have it, it is with you for life and you cant get rid of it. There has been no cure for HIV that has been developed but there are ways to treat HIV with proper medication that can prolong the lives of those who have HIV. HIV can be spread through blood and bodily fluids such as semen, so commonly people contract HIV through sexual activity and needle or syringe use. This can be prevented by using a condom when having sexual intercourse or to not share needles and make sure needles or syringes are clean upon use.
AIDS is the final stage of HIV infection that occurs when the immune system is so badly damaged and there is a major shortage of CD4 cells in the body. Without treatment, a person with AIDS has a life expectancy of about 1 year, and with treatment that can rise to 3 years. Someone that has AIDS can also develop health conditions like pneumonia, cancer and tuberculosis. |
At first, people had been reluctant to address AIDS as a real issue because for the first few years since the outbreak, the only known cases were assumed to be from homosexual men. This prompted many anti-gay organisations and churches to label AIDS as the 'gay cancer'
|
OUTBREAK OF AIDSThe first case of AIDS in the United States was discovered and reported to the Centre for Disease Control on April 24 1980 in San Francisco. The man was suffering from a skin disease known as Kaposi's Sarcoma. A few months later flight attendant Gaëtan Dugas became known as 'Patient Zero' because of his apparent early connection to many cases of AIDS in the United States due to his visit to the New York City bathhouses. Later in 1981, a rare lung infection was found in 5 gay men from Los Angeles who were previously in good health. Due to this, many people associated HIV with homosexuality, causing outrage in the community at a time when it was only just becoming an accepted part of society. In early July, when the New York Times published a news report saying that 41 homosexuals had been diagnosed with Kaposi's Sarcoma and eight had died within 24 hours after the diagnosis was made. In 1982 it was referred to as GRID (Gay-Related Immune Deficiency) and it wasn't until later that year that the term AIDS replaced GRID. As HIV/AIDS began to spread across the globe prompted a number of AIDS-specific organisations to be set up including The Terry Higgins Trust in the UK and the San Francisco AIDS Foundation in the US. It wasn't until women in heterosexual relationships began to report having the disease was it discovered that it can be passed on via heterosexual sex. Due to high reports of infectivity, bath houses and private sex clubs across America began to shut down. The first high profile death from the illness was actor Rock Hudson on October 2 1985, he had left a substantial amount of money to set up the American Foundation for AIDS Research (amFAR) In 1988, the World Health Organisation declared the first World AIDS Day on December 1st.
|