AIDS was first identified in the USA in 1981. The epidemic has now spread to every part of the USA and to all sectors of society. It is thought that
more than one million people are living with
HIV in the USA and that
more than half a million have died after developing
AIDS. American
HIV surveillance data are not comprehensive so many statistics must be based on reports of
AIDS diagnoses.
Some Statistics within the United States:
44.1% of those infected with the disease are African American.
35.3% of those infected with the disease are Caucasian.
19.1 % of those infected with the disease are Hispanic.
Statistics for the end of 2008 concluded that there are approximately 33 million people living with HIV. Approximately 2.7 million more are infected yearly, and 2 million more die due to AIDS.
AIDS is caused by HIV, a virus that can be passed from person to person through sexual fluids, blood and breast milk. Certain types of behavior carry a higher risk of HIV transmission. People particularly vulnerable to HIV include injecting drug users, sex workers and men who have sex with men. In many people’s minds, HIV and AIDS are closely linked with these groups, which can lead to even greater prejudice against people already treated as outsiders.
Yet the vast majority of HIV infections are transmitted through sex between men and women. Nearly half of all adults living with HIV are female. Many Western countries, such as the UK, have increasing rates of HIV transmission through heterosexual sex. In America, where more than a million people are living with HIV, heterosexual sex accounts for one third of new diagnoses.3
As a sexually transmitted infection,
HIV particularly affects adolescents and young adults. Deaths of young adults have an especially damaging impact on their families and communities: skills are lost, workforces shrink and children are orphaned. In some African countries, life expectancies have fallen below 40 years, whereas they would have been above 60 without
AIDS. There are around 15 million living children who have lost a parent to
AIDS.
Their StoriesI found out I was
HIV positive august 14, 2002. I was infected by my so called fiancé. I had many emotions, depressed, crying, happy, sad, angry and hurt. There were many times I thought about suicide, but I thought about my one and only son. He already lost his dad to AIDS, so I couldn't bring myself to take him through that again. I could hear the thoughts and whispers of what they thought of me and how they looked at me. People are so quick to put you in the ground (dead and buried); family too. I've been involved with two organizations that are educating me so I can be an educator to my peers. It's not easy always to live this life, but that's why I'm doing what I'm doing, I want to show LOVE, CARE, and CONCERN to people like me. We need love too; our lives don't end because we're
HIV positive or have
AIDS! But people are ignorant to the fact because they don't know. They don't know the difference between
HIV and
AIDS. And you can live a healthy normal life. Still, regardless of the negative people and their whispers. My life is in God's hand and he won't put no more on me than I can bear! So lift your head up and be blessed! -
ShondaI was infected nine years ago. Two years later I developed 'a beetroot face'. My whole face was constantly red. Friends, not knowing I was
HIV+, thought I was drinking too much alcohol. (I noticed how people started to try and steer me away from drink! They were just doing their best to figure out why I had the red face.) Next, on top of the red face, I developed psoriasis on the face - embarrassing peeling skin along with dozens of tiny whiteheads. At the same time all of my toenails became yellow and infected with fungus under the nail. No amount of topical creams could get through the nails to cure it. I had to start hiding my feet during the summer (I always had to wear socks, so people wouldn't see the yellow/brownish nails). Four years after infection my
HIV specialist rang to say that my CD4 count had plummeted to 120 and that I had better visit him again quickly in order to start treatment.Within weeks of starting my first treatment I was having the most vivid and colourful dreams. A month later these dreams had turned into nightmares. They occurred every night, without fail. At about 2am I would awake sweating and shaking, my heart pumping away in fear, and my whole system so saturated with adrenalin because of the terror of the nightmare that I could not get back to sleep for two or three hours. This nightly disruption wrecked my days.
The doctors said that my body would take about a year to adjust. However things did not improve. The nightly sleep deprivation caused depression and after about 8 months or so I was regularly thinking about suicide. My
HIV doctor seemed not to believe that I could be suffering so badly and assured me that it was worth hanging on for my body 'to adjust'. After 12 months I was so desperate that I went to the clinic had to make a real fuss. They caved in and agreed to put me on another combination.
I have been on the second combination now for four years. I no longer have nightmares that wake me nightly but my brain has been permanently affected: to this day I have an endless succession of vivid dreams every night. At least I now sleep right through the night but I wake up in the morning mentally exhausted, often with a severe headache, and it takes me from 7.30am until about 11am to "get right" and for my head to clear. The combination I have been on for the last four years has had two unfortunate side-effects: daily diarrhea and a loss of muscle in my behind. The daily diarrhea begins when I get up and doesn't clear until about midday. In those five hours I generally have to go to the toilet about five times. The loss of muscle in my behind means I now have to avoid sitting where there is no cushioning or padding in the chair or seat, because it becomes painful quite quickly.
The meds have cleared up the redness and psoriasis in my face and now, apart from my behind, there is no sign in my appearance that I am a person with HIV. The fungus in my toenails was cured by a separate drug which I had to take for six months. However, psychologically things are quite different. My wrecked mornings are a nuisance, as is the diarrhea. I'm usually depressed in the mornings. But I am aware that if it weren't for the extremely expensive and effective drugs I would be dead, so I am trying to make the most of my life. I know there are some people who have been on the meds for many more years than I have and have never experienced any noteworthy side- effect. They're so lucky. I wished I was one of them. For those of us who are infected with this awful virus, it would be so wonderful if a cure is developed sooner rather than later. I have written my will and lodged it with a solicitor. 70% of the proceeds of my estate will go to medical research. -Anonymous
I hope you educated yourself a little bit while reading his, this is just a small portion of the large amount of information you can know about the disease. Educate yourselves, educate those around you. Take this time out to research the things that you may not have known before and even if you wanted, you can make a difference. You can donate to the National AIDS Foundation by clicking here, but all I ask is that each and everyone of you remain educated and always always be safe.
All information gathered from;
http://www.avert.org
http://www.wordaidsday.org
http://www.google.org/world-aids-day-2009.html
Until the next time my loves, be safe Be Blessed-Fatima
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