international health community
international health community
One global health issue that impacts the international health community is HIV. HIV stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus. HIV attacks the CD4 cells (T cells) which are cells that help the body to fight off infections. Overtime, the HIV can destroy many of the T cells that the body will not be able to fight off infection leaving it more propense to opportunistic infections. The opportunistic infection leaves the body very weak and signal that the person has AIDS which is the last stage of HIV. There is no cure for HIV, but with adequate medical care, the virus can be controlled. The antiretroviral therapy is the medicine to treat HIV and it can make the viral load undetectable so the person with HIV can live longer. Commonly, people get or transmit HIV through sex and needle or syringe use. The person infected with HIV can transmit it to other person through body fluids such as blood, semen, pre-seminal fluid, rectal fluids, vaginal fluids, and breast milk. HIV can be prevented through abstinence, limiting number of sexual partners , avoiding sharing needles and using condoms. HIV and AIDS are still a problem for United States and other countries around the world. In 2018, “37,832” people were diagnosed with HIV in USA and gay, bisexual and men who have sex with other men accounted for 69% of all new HIV diagnosis. At end of 2016, an estimated “1.1 million” people in USA had HIV with the blacks/African American being the most affected population. In 2018, African Americans accounted for “42%” or all new HIV diagnosis and most cases of HIV occur in metropolitan areas with “500,00” or more people. HIV diagnosis can also vary by age. Young gay and bisexual men ages 13 to 24 accounted for “83%” of all new cases in 2018. Worldwide, there were about “1.7 million” of new cases of HIV in 2018. An estimated “770,000” people died from AIDS related illness in 2018 (CDC, 2019).
