I feel that this is how school sometimes works: the classes that are the most interesting to you, also happen to be the most difficult.
Anyone else experience this?
Sciences are extremely fascinating to me, but are also the classes that require the most work. Today, I am studying for my third microbiology exam of the semester and also an anatomy and physiology lab practical over all the bones of the body. (Welcome to the life of a nursing major!)
It seems as though when my brain is feeling swollen, I am struck the with the sheer awe and power of the material. For instance, one chapter covered on our micro exam is on HIV and AIDS. You think you know a good bit about HIV and other diseases...that is, until you cover them in microbiology.
Some of this information is just so crazy, I had to share. If you don't feel like being depressed and bogged down by some shocking and scary scientific information that applies to so much of our population, feel free to browse the web elsewhere. If you feel brave enough to continue reading, go you:)
(By the way, I'm not taking credit for digging up this information. It's material we discussed in class.)
I hate to say of a virus that it is impressive, but when thinking about HIV, it really is! It's odd to start at the end of the equation, but I will anyway. To kill the HIV virus, it takes a specific cocktail of drugs. And these drugs are super complex and expensive. This is because, to kill HIV, it's not enough to just damage one part. You have to kill every part of HIV to kill it. This drug cocktail is referred to as HAART, Highly Active Anti-Retroviral Therapy. These drugs include reverse transcriptase inhibitors, protease inhibitors, integrase inhibitors, and fusion inhibitors. With these drugs, HIV will not be able to fuse with our cells, make copies of its RNA, combine its genome into ours, or make functional proteins. Hitting HIV with one drug is nothing. HIV will simply evolve around it. That's amazing! Scary, but amazing.
Now that you see what we're dealing with, lets check out the order of symptoms and phases of infection.
Phase 1 lasts from the time of infection to 3 years (approximately). During this time, one can be asymptomatic (showing no symptoms) or experience what is called ARS, which is Acute Retroviral Syndrome. The symptoms of this can vary between flu-like symptoms, confusion, up to seizures. The scary thing about this phase is the fact that you can show no symptoms or experience symptoms that disappear after awhile before you hit phase two.
In phase 2, years 3-8, the amount of cells that work to kill viruses are steadily declining. The virus is reproducing aggressively, but can barely be traced in the blood, so it goes almost undetected, except through possible symptoms. The symptoms are termed LAS, which stands for Lymphadenopathy Syndrome. This is basically persistent enlargement of the lymph nodes.
Phase 3 lasts from year 8 until the death of the victim. The cells that kill viruses are basically wiped out. This is when the person acquires AIDS and AIDS Related Complex. The person is more prone to opportunistic infections because their immune system is so compromised. They may experience fever, weight loss, fatigue, diarrhea, even dementia before one of the infections takes their life.
Why am I sharing this? Sure it helps me study to talk through everything, but I also feel like people should know what an insanely devastating disease this is and how much of our world it affects.
According to the World Health Organization, there were over 7000 new HIV infections per day in 2010. About 97% of those infected were from low to middle income countries. About 1000 were children under 15 years of age. A good majority of the rest are young people between the ages of 15 and 24.
The main methods of transmission of HIV are through accidental needle sticks and blood transfusions. Some simple ways to prevent the transmission of this awful virus include safe sex (abstinence is even better!), not using IV drugs, using Anti-Retroviral Therapy on expectant mothers, and of course: not sharing needles.And while prices for the necessary drug cocktail have gone down some, it is still extremely expensive for people in areas most affected by HIV and AIDS, like Sub-Sahara Africa and India.
A modeling study from 2011 estimated that through a combination of HIV prevention methods and Anti-Retroviral therapy coverage for 80% of patients could reduce the number of people acquiring HIV from more than 3 million per year to 1.2 million by 2025. Read that sentence again. Isn't it astounding?
So what's our biggest obstacle? Cost and the fact that most infected people are in poor, underdeveloped countries with no possible access to the drugs necessary to kill HIV.
And there's the sad truth of it all.
We have ways of at least slowing down this disease, but the people who need to most help can't get it.
So is anyone doing anything? We can't stop there!
Thankfully the World Health Organization is moving us forward. According to them, since 2001, there has been a 24% reduction in the number of HIV infections in infants. That's so huge! However, 10 million people who are eligible for treatment still do not have access to it. And that's the driving factor here.
I greatly appreciate this quote from WHO (World Health Organization) Director, Dr. Margaret Chan:
"We know what needs to be done, and we have a new strategy to do it more efficiently......The vision for a new generation free from HIV/AIDS is within our reach. We must work together to enhance our response to HIVand achieve universal access to HIV services for all who need them."
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Praise be to God!
Thanks for reading:)
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