How is the HIV/AIDS Epidemic Affecting People in the World?
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How is the HIV/AIDS Epidemic Affecting People in the World?
(Statistics, How It Came About And Prevention)
Within the last fifteen years the Human Immunodeficiency Virus / Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS) has increased significantly since its first recognition in the United States of America in the early 1980s. HIV/AIDS is one of the top killers in the world today. In July 2008, the UNAIDS 2008 Report estimated that at the end of 2007 around 30.8 million adults and 2 million children were living with HIV (See Table 1). At the end of 2007, an estimated 2.0 million people succumbed to this deadly disease of which 0.27 million were children (AVERTing HIV and AIDS n.d.).
On 17th May 1999, an article in the London Daily Telegraph, Letter to the Editor section, was published by Mrs. Polly Kirk stating that HIV/AIDS is linked to sexual relations with monkeys. In 1957, Mrs. Kirk worked at Fever Hospital in Johannesburg, Africa as a student nurse. Her first recollection of the virus was the arrival of patients at the hospital with sores of odd appearances. Their patients were unfamiliar with the English language and were unable to explain their symptoms. Despite numerous tests being done, the medical team was unable to diagnosis the illness prior to their patients’ deaths. It was later discovered that monkeys (with a green sheen coat) in the Congo were kept as pets and admired/honoured. The people thought the green sheen was a sign of mystical powers. Men contracted the “green monkey disease” due to their surprising sexual practices with the monkeys. The “green monkey disease” was later determined to be the first cases of AIDS in Africa (Heretical.com n.d.).
The Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is a virus that attacks and destroys the functions of the immune system (mainly the CD4 positive T cells and macrophages). The CD4 positive T cells are types of white blood cells that help our bodies
How is the HIV/AIDS Epidemic Affecting People in the World?
(Statistics, How It Came About And Prevention)
Within the last fifteen years the Human Immunodeficiency Virus / Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS) has increased significantly since its first recognition in the United States of America in the early 1980s. HIV/AIDS is one of the top killers in the world today. In July 2008, the UNAIDS 2008 Report estimated that at the end of 2007 around 30.8 million adults and 2 million children were living with HIV (See Table 1). At the end of 2007, an estimated 2.0 million people succumbed to this deadly disease of which 0.27 million were children (AVERTing HIV and AIDS n.d.).
On 17th May 1999, an article in the London Daily Telegraph, Letter to the Editor section, was published by Mrs. Polly Kirk stating that HIV/AIDS is linked to sexual relations with monkeys. In 1957, Mrs. Kirk worked at Fever Hospital in Johannesburg, Africa as a student nurse. Her first recollection of the virus was the arrival of patients at the hospital with sores of odd appearances. Their patients were unfamiliar with the English language and were unable to explain their symptoms. Despite numerous tests being done, the medical team was unable to diagnosis the illness prior to their patients’ deaths. It was later discovered that monkeys (with a green sheen coat) in the Congo were kept as pets and admired/honoured. The people thought the green sheen was a sign of mystical powers. Men contracted the “green monkey disease” due to their surprising sexual practices with the monkeys. The “green monkey disease” was later determined to be the first cases of AIDS in Africa (Heretical.com n.d.).
The Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is a virus that attacks and destroys the functions of the immune system (mainly the CD4 positive T cells and macrophages). The CD4 positive T cells are types of white blood cells that help our bodies
References: About.com: AIDS/HIV. 2009. http://aids.about.com/od/hivprevention/a/quickfacts4.htm (accessed April 14, 2009). AVERTing HIV and AIDS. AVERT.org. http://www.avert.org/worldstats.htm (accessed April 6, 2009). AVERTing HIV and AIDS. AVERT.org. http://www.avert.org/origins.htm (accessed April 6, 2009). Heretical.com. http://www.heretical.com/miscella/aids.html (accessed April 6, 2009). i-Base. http://www.i-base.info/guides/pregnancy/glossary.html (accessed April 6, 2009). STOP AIDS Project. 1985. http://www.stopaids.org/resources/std_info/definitions.html (accessed April 6, 2009). UNAIDS - Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS. http://www.unaids.org (accessed April 6, 2009). Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macrophage (accessed April 6, 2009). Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_causes_of_death_by_rate#cite_note-1 (accessed April 6, 2009).