Cures
Aids are a very large problem around the world. There is no cure for AIDS but there is a treatment that consist of antiretroviral drugs. The most affective treatment is called HARRT and this is when you take multiple drugs at once. This treatment is most affective because HIV is a virus that replicates, and when it does, it doesn't replicate the same way. So, one drug may not treat the replicates.
Groups of drugs for HARRT:
--Non-Nucleoside Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors
--Protease Inhibitors
--Fusion or Entry Inhibitors
--Integrase Inhibitors
How AIDS Affects Untreated Poeple in Africa
Unfortunately many people in Africa don't have the treatments available or can't afford to get it. So people continue to live with AIDS. In the poorer parts of Africa, many hospitals are running out of beds for people of all illnesses. Due to the high demand of medical care for HIV or related diseases, hospitals are forced to only let patients in when their sickness gets terribly bad and they really need medical attention.
Even in not as poor countries like Sub- Sahara the hospitals are estimated
to be about 50% full of patients with HIV related diseases. A government-funded
survey said that HIV positive patients stay in the hospital at least
4 times longer than patients with other illnesses. It is also predicted
that if these hospital stats. stay like they are, 60-70% people will
be in the hospitals due to HIV related diseases.
Health care workers are also testing HIV positive and this causes hospitals
to lose doctors, nurses, and midwives. Also healthcare workers in Africa
work very hard and get little pay for their work so most of them are
moving to different places where they would work less and get more
pay. This causes an even greater shortage of health care workers.
Sources:
--Living with Slim. Dir. Sam Kauffman. DVD. 2004. Living with Slim. Dir. Sam KauffmaLiving with Slim. Dir. Sa(Kauffman. DVD. 2004. Living with Slim. Dir. Sam Kauffman. DVD. 20)
--Pembrey, Graham. "HIV Treatment for Children." Avert.Org. 8 Aug. 2007. 15 Jan. 2008 <http://www.avert.org/hiv-children.htm>.
--"What is AIDS." Aids.Org. 14 Jan. 2008 <http://www.aids.org/info/what-causes-aids.html>.
-- Barrow, Gregg. "Case Study: South Africa." BBC.Org. 14 Jan. 2008 <http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/in_depth/africa/2000/aids_in_africa/casestudy_sa.stm>.
-- Pembrey, Graham. "HIV&AIDS in South Africa." 26 Nov.
2007. 15 Jan. 2008 <http://www.avert.org/aidssouthafrica.htm>.
