AIDS

Written by Amal Allam

Friday, December 1, 2023 11:00 AM

You celebrate Global Health OrganizationWorld AIDS Day falls on December 1 of each year, and HIV continues to represent a major global public health problem, as it has claimed the lives of 40.4 million people so far, with continued transmission in all countries of the world. Some countries are reporting increasing trends in new infections when they previously witnessed a decline.

Estimates indicated that the number of people infected with the virus reached 39.0 million [33.1- 45.7 مليون شخص] At the end of 2022, two-thirds of them (25.6 million people) live in the organization’s African region.

In 2022, 630,000 people died from HIV-related causes and 1.3 million people became infected with the virus..

The World Health Organization said that there is no cure for HIV infection. However, with the increasing availability of effective means of preventing, diagnosing and treating HIV infection, including opportunistic infections, HIV infection has become a chronic health condition that can be managed therapeutically, enabling those infected with the virus to live long, healthy lives..

WHO, the Global Fund and UNAIDS have global HIV strategies in line with Sustainable Development Goal 3.3 to end the HIV pandemic by 2030.

She added that by 2025, 95% of all people infected with HIV should be diagnosed, 95% of those infected should be on life-saving antiretroviral therapy, and 95% of people on treatment should achieve viral load suppression to benefit their lives. improves a person’s health and reduces the transmission of HIV.

When considering all people with HIV, 86% were aware of their status, 76% were receiving antiretroviral therapy, and 71% had suppressed viral loads.

The organization added that the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) It is an infection that attacks the body’s immune system. Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is the most advanced stage of the disease.

HIV targets the body’s white blood cells, weakening the immune system. This facilitates the incidence of diseases such as tuberculosis, infections, and some types of cancer.

HIV is transmitted from an infected person’s body fluids, including blood, breast milk, semen, and vaginal fluids. It is not transmitted through kissing, hugging, or sharing food. It can also be transmitted from the mother to her fetus.

treatment..

HIV can be treated and prevented with antiretroviral therapy. Untreated HIV infection can progress to AIDS, often many years later..

The World Health Organization now defines advanced HIV infection as a condition with a cluster of differentiation cell count of less than 200 cells/mm3 or WHO stage 3 or 4 in adults and adolescents. All HIV-positive children under the age of 5 are considered to have advanced HIV infection.

Signs and symptoms..

Symptoms of HIV vary depending on the stage of infection.

The disease spreads most easily in the first few months after infection, but many patients do not realize they have this infection until later stages. In the first few weeks following infection, no symptoms may appear, and flu-like symptoms may appear.

Among them are the following:

fever

Headache

Skin rash

sore throat.

The infection gradually weakens the immune system. This can cause other signs and symptoms such as the following:

Swollen lymph nodes

Weight loss

fever

diarrhea

Cough.

If untreated, people living with HIV may develop serious illnesses such as the following:

Tuberculosis

Meningitis

Severe bacterial infections

Some types of cancer such as lymphoma and Kaposi’s sarcoma.

HIV makes other infections, such as hepatitis, worse C And hepatitis B Monkeypox

Disease transmission..

The virus can be transmitted through an infected person’s body fluids, such as blood, breast milk, semen, and vaginal secretions. It can also be transmitted during pregnancy and childbirth, and the infection is not transmitted through normal daily contact, such as kissing, hugging, shaking hands, or sharing personal items, food, or water..

It is worth noting that people infected with the virus who are taking antiretroviral therapy have an undetectable viral load and do not transmit its infection to their sexual partners. Therefore, early access to treatment with these medications and support to continue taking them are crucial not only to improve the health of those infected with the virus, but also to prevent transmission to others..

Risk factors..

Behaviors and situations that increase the likelihood of contracting the virus include the following:

Unnatural sexual intercourse or through marriage if one of them is infected with the virus

Other sexually transmitted infections, such as syphilis, herpes, chlamydia, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, and bacterial vaginosis;

Engaging in the harmful use of alcohol and drug use

Sharing contaminated needles, syringes, other injection tools, and drug preparation solutions when injecting drugs;

‘Undergoing unsafe injections, blood transfusions, or tissue transplants, or medical procedures that involve cutting or puncturing the skin without sterilization;

Accidental exposure to needle sticks, including exposure among health workers.

Diagnosis…

HIV infection can be diagnosed with rapid diagnostic tests that produce same-day results. This makes it much easier to diagnose it early and refer those infected for treatment and prevention. There are tests to detect the virus that allow people to conduct the examination themselves. However, no single test gives a complete diagnosis of the virus; Confirmatory testing is therefore required by a qualified and experienced health or community worker at a community medical center or clinic. Virus infection can also be detected with great accuracy using tests previously approved by the organization as part of a nationally approved testing strategy..

Most commonly used virus diagnostic tests detect antibodies that a person generates as part of his or her immune response to combat the virus. In most cases, a person generates these antibodies within 28 days of becoming infected. During this time, the person goes through a period called a “hiatus” when they have low levels of antibodies that cannot be detected by many rapid tests, but they may spread their infection to others. People who were recently exposed to high risk and had a negative test can have another test 28 days later..

After an individual is diagnosed with the virus, he or she should be retested before beginning treatment and care to avoid any potential error in testing or reporting of results. Although testing for HIV infection among adolescents and adults has become simple and effective, it does not apply to infants born to infected mothers. For children under 18 months of age, a rapid antibody test is not sufficient to determine infection with the virus – a viral test must be performed as early as at birth or in the sixth week of life. New technologies are now available to conduct this test in care centers and results can be obtained on the same day, which will speed up referrals for appropriate treatment and care..

protection..

HIV is a preventable disease.

Reduce your chance of getting HIV infection by doing the following:

Get tested for HIV infection and sexually transmitted infections

Performing medical circumcision on males

Providing risk reduction services for people who inject drugs.

Doctors may suggest medications and medical devices to help prevent HIV, including the following:

Antiretroviral drugs, including oral pre-exposure prophylaxis and long-acting products

Cabotegravir is a long-acting injectable drug.

Antiretroviral drugs can also be taken to prevent the transmission of HIV from mothers to their children.

People on antiretroviral therapy who do not have evidence of viremia do not transmit HIV to their sexual partners. Access to testing and antiretroviral treatment is an important part of HIV prevention.

There is no cure for HIV infection. This infection is treated with antiretroviral drugs that prevent the virus from multiplying in the body.

Current antiretroviral therapy does not cure HIV infection but allows a person’s immune system to become stronger. This helps it fight other types of infections.

Currently, antiretroviral therapy must be taken daily for the remainder of the infected person’s life.

Antiretroviral therapy reduces the amount of virus in a person’s body. This stops the symptoms and allows the person to live a full, healthy life. People living with HIV who are receiving antiretroviral therapy and who have no evidence of viremia do not transmit HIV to their sexual partners.

Antiretroviral therapy should be available to pregnant women infected with HIV and they should take it as soon as possible. This protects the mother’s health and will help prevent transmission of the virus to the fetus before birth, or to the infant through breast milk.

Antiretroviral drugs given to people who are not infected with the virus can prevent the disease.

When treatment is given before possible exposure to HIV, it is called pre-exposure prophylaxis, and when it is given after exposure to the virus, it is called post-exposure prophylaxis. A person can take pre-exposure prophylaxis or post-exposure prophylaxis if the risk of contracting HIV is high. He should seek advice from his doctor when considering taking one of these two treatments.

The organization said that HIV infection in its advanced stages remains an ongoing problem in the field of response to the virus. The organization works to support countries in implementing the necessary package of care for patients with advanced HIV infection to reduce morbidity and mortality. New HIV medicines and short-term treatments for opportunistic infections such as meningitis are being developed, and may change the way people take antiretroviral therapy and preventive medicines, including injectable formulations, in the future..