The HIV/AIDS story

          AIDS is a big threat to the international and South African population. South Africa has the largest birth rate and with that probably the largest death rate .A great percentage of these deaths are aids related. AIDS is spreading quickly and 61% of all the babies born in SA are HIV positive, ± 50% of all those babies die within the first year of life. Depending on their ability to resist the symptoms the mother would also die a couple of months after the birth of the child. Many people don’t understand aids and what a threat it is to the population.

What is it?

          HIV is the virus that causes AIDS, which principally attacks the T-4 lymphocytes, which is a vital part of the human immune system. HIV is transmitted sexually; through contact with contaminated blood, tissue, or needles and from mother to child during birth or breast-feeding.

          This disease weakens the body’s ability to resist bacterial and fungal infections or pneumonia. Pneumonia is the leading cause of death among people with the HIV infection. The disease has also increased the possibility for the candidate to develop cancer such as B-cell lymphomas and Kaposi’s sarcoma.

          Neurological complications and dramatic weight loss or wasting, are characteristic of AIDS, which is the end stage of the HIV disease. However full-blown symptoms of AIDS may not develop for more than 10 years after infection has occurred.

          There is a continuing effort to find a cure for the HIV virus. However the mechanisms by which HIV causes the immune deficiency is still not completely understood. This has limited further research.