According to the World Health Organization (WHO), HIV/AIDS is no longer a death sentence because of advances in antiretroviral therapy. However, this applies mostly to developed countries. In low-income and middle-income countries, over 5.5 million people still have no access to antiretroviral treatment.
The WHO is trying to help their member countries mitigate the spread of HIV/AIDS and ease its effects. Their goal is to assist those countries with scaling up and delivering comprehensive services. And one of the ways that the WHO assists these countries is by providing current data on the disease.
The following 10 facts represent the latest information available from the WHO on HIV/AIDS, including ways to prevent the disease and how to treat it.
HIV/AIDS Fact 1
The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) attacks the cells of the immune system. As the virus impairs or destroys the cells' function, the immune system progressively deteriorates, and the body can no longer fight off infections and disease. The most advanced stages of HIV infection are referred to as acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). The WHO defines AIDS as "the occurrence of any of more than 20 opportunistic infections or related cancers."
HIV/AIDS Fact 2
HIV can be transmitted in a number of ways:
- participating in unprotected vaginal or anal sexual intercourse with an infected person
- participating in oral sex with an infected person
- sharing contaminated sharp instruments, such as needles or syringes
- receiving a transfusion from contaminated blood
- passing the virus from mother to baby during pregnancy, childbirth, or breastfeeding
HIV/AIDS Fact 3
Currently, 33.4 million people around the world live with HIV/AIDS. The majority of these people live in low-income or middle-income countries. In 2008 alone, about 2.7 million people were infected.
HIV/AIDS Fact 4
To date, HIV/AIDS has claimed over 27 million lives, making it the world's leading infectious killer. Each year, HIV/AIDS takes the lives of about 2 million people.
HIV/AIDS Fact 5
Combination antiretroviral therapy can stop HIV from multiplying in the body. By preventing the reproduction of the virus, the immune cells can live longer and protect the body from infections.
HIV/AIDS Fact 6
In 2008, approximately four million HIV-infected individuals in low-income and middle-income countries had access to antiretroviral therapy. That's a 36% increase over 2007 and a tenfold increase compared to five years earlier. Even so, only 42% of the 9.5 million people who need the antiretroviral therapy are receiving it.
HIV/AIDS Fact 7
According to 2008 statistics, over two million children live with HIV/AIDS. Most of them live in sub-Saharan Africa and were infected by their mothers during pregnancy, childbirth, or breastfeeding. Each day, nearly 1200 children become infected. However, more HIV-infected children now receive antiretroviral therapy than ever. For example, in 2005, only 75,000 children received the needed treatment. By 2008, this number reached 276,000.
HIV/AIDS Fact 8
Mother-to-child HIV transmission can be avoided, but mothers in developing low-income and middle-income countries have limited access to preventive intervention. There have been some gains, however. In 2008, 45% of the HIV-infected pregnant women received antiretroviral therapy, which can prevent mother-to-child transmission. This is a 10% increase from 2004.
HIV/AIDS Fact 9
In 2007, nearly one-fourth of the two million deaths from HIV could be attributed to tuberculosis (TB). About 80% of those with both HIV and TB live in sub-Saharan Africa, and about a quarter of them are in South Africa.
HIV/AIDS Fact 10
HIV transmission can be prevented in several ways:
- practicing safe sexual behavior, such as using condoms
- abstaining from sex
- avoiding the injection of drugs. Those who do inject drugs should use new and disposable needles and syringes.
- ensuring that any necessary blood or blood products that an individual might need are tested for HIV
R.H. Sheldon - A number of years ago, long before I moved to the Northwest, I hitchhiked with a friend across Washington state to northern Idaho. We got ...
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