HIV in Popular Media

           Hello all, it’s me again. I just stumbled across a newspaper article, “Death by denial: The campaigners who continue to deny HIV causes Aids”(Deer, 2012). The title is self explanatory but essentially gives a detailed record of how certain people feel that HIV does not cause AIDs.  

The article goes on to discuss several HIV positive individuals who essentially caused their own death because they refused to take medication. Of these people was Karri Stokely, who stopped taking drugs due a youtube video that claimed HIV was a “hoax”. She died four years later.                          Although this is not the exact video, this link an example of how the incorrect information is circulating. Unfortunately, Stockely is  not the only HIV positive person who has lost their life because they do not believe in the disease. American signer Michael Callen along with magazine editors  Jody Wells and Huw Christie passed away because of their beliefs.  

          I was completely blown away when I read this! I did some more research and I found that these people who stand by this movement are actually extremely educated. HIV causing AIDs is not a controversial topic, it is science. There has been a plethora of peer reviewed reliable research that proves this. Of the research, there was a study conducted that analyzed DNA of those who are infected with HIV and concluded that the virus causes associated symptoms(Michael et al., 1997). 

The other invalid argument that these people firmly believe centers around the thought that the drugs that are used to treat HIV is the disease causing agent. This is also invalid. There have been many studies that have found there is an increased survival for people who take these drugs(Debunking Denialist Myths, 2015). Additionally, people who  believe that HIV is not real look to those who have stopped taking medication and are living a ‘healthy life’. However, sources show that the majority of these people do not survive, and few exceptions should not serve as role models(Debunking Denialist Myths,2015). 

             I am very curious as to what incentive these people would have to make up an illness. If they think that Americans are greedy and are spreading these ‘HIV myths’ wonder if these people have considered all people that are dying in Sub-Saharan Africa who have no money and/or access to these mutli-drug cocktail. I think it is extremely selfish for people not to take into consideration the opportunity they have to live a relatively normal and healthy life by just taking drugs instead of refusing to believe something with logical scientific research promotes.

                                                               References

Deer, B. (2012, February 21). Death by denial: The campaigners who continue to deny HIV causes Aids. Retrieved January 22, 2015, from http://www.theguardian.com/science/blog/2012/feb/21/death-denial-hiv-aids

The role of CCR5 and CCR2 polymorphisms in HIV-1 transmission and disease progression. (1997). Nature Medicine, 1160-1162. Retrieved January 22, 2016, from http://www.nature.com/nm/journal/v3/n10/abs/nm1097-1160.html

Debunking Denialist Myths. (2015). Retrieved January 22, 2016, from https://www.aidstruth.org/myths/#m20 

HIV management and Mental health

                 Welcome back! Now that you know the basics for HIV, I thought it would be interesting to look at some relatively recent literature. The article “Mental Health and Substance Use Among Patients in a North Carolina HIV Clinic”, explores the effect of mental health and its relationship between HIV positive peoples’s adherence to HIV antiretroviral(ARV) therapy.One of the rationales behind this study stems from the fact that depression and substance abuse is more prevalent in HIV positive people than the regular population. Additionally, previous literature has shown that there are reasons to believe mental health and substance abuse problems are related to the decline in adherence to the HIV medicine.

                 To investigate this interaction between mental health and HIV adherence, HIV patients in North Carolina clinics were sampled. A clinic in North Carolina was chosen to represent the southern United States, since there are disproportionately higher rates of HIV in the south. The study’s participants were administered questionaries that assessed their depression levels (past and present), prior psychiatric disorder diagnosis, drug/alcohol usage, smoking and adherence. They found that 12.2% of patients had moderate to severe depression, 38.6% had a previous psychiatric diagnosis, 8.2% of people reported “problematic” drug use. They discovered that these realms are related and that about 22% of people had below “ideal” acceptable levels of HIV drug adherence. An additional/more detailed table of the results is provided below.

                 The results from this study found that there is a “suboptimal adherence to ARV medication” in racial/ethnic minorities, females, young people and those who have moderate/severe depression. It is important to note that the nature of this study does not indicate causation because they were not allowed to manipulate people into certain groups. However,  this correlation provides relevant information for health care professionals and a basis for further research. In order to increase adherence to the ARV health care professionals should analyze  possible levels of depression and give them tools to cope with it so that they can lead an overall healthier life style. Moving forward, there should be more studies conducted on all of these different variables individually(i.e psychiatric disorders and HIV) with respect to HIV adherence. Additionally, the correlation needs to be retested to prove the reliability of results. 

                                                                 Reference 

Sikkema , K. J. , Watt , M. H. , Drabkin , A. S. , Meade , C. S. , Hansen , N. B. , & Pence , B. W. ( 2010 ). Mental health treatment to reduce HIV transmission risk behavior: A positive prevention model . AIDS and Behavior , 14 , 252 – 262

Prevention and Transmission

                   Hello all! I wanted to follow up the previous post with some more important facts regarding the prevention and transmission of HIV, so that you can make smart, informed decisions! 

First off HIV can be spread via sexual intercourse(vaginal and anal), oral sex, sharing infected needles, and from mother to child(San Fransisco AIDs Foundation, 2016). HIV spreads when people have sexual intercourse through the mucus membrane or through microscopic cuts in these areas(San Fransisco AIDs Foundation, 2016). HIV could also spread through oral sex if an HIV positive person’s semen, vaginal fluid and/or blood comes in contact with the throat, gums, or oral membranes(San Fransisco AIDs Foundation, 2016).Sharing infected needles allows for a direct transfer between the infected blood into the non infected blood thereby allowing this disease to spread(San Fransisco AIDs Foundation, 2016). Lastly, this disease can spread from infected  mother to child via childbirth or breastfeeding. It is important to note that HIV cannot be transmitted by saliva, which is a commonly believed myth. The picture below is a good infographic that can be used by public health officials to catch people's attention. 

                               Source: http://observationdeck.kinja.com/ask-me-anything-about-hiv-prevention-and-other-random-s-1607263505 

                  While anyone can contract HIV, there are certain groups who are more at risk than others. Drug Addicts, Sex workers, Children of HIV positive mothers, economically disadvantaged people, people who identify with gay/bisexual sexual orientation, African Americans, and Alaska natives are all at risk for this disease(Who is at risk for HIV, 2014). Drug addicts often sharer needles with many people thereby increasing their chances of contracting the disease. Economically disadvantaged people are undereducated as well as under resourced to receive the proper treatment and/or resources. African Americans, American indians/ Alaska natives, and gay/bisexual people are at risk due to the high prevalence of HIV/AIDs in their communities. It is also important to not while these are the most “at risk” groups, the disease is most prevalent in sub-saharan Africa(HIV/AIDs, n.d.). These people are largely fat a disadvantage due to their lack of economic resources/health care.

The most effective preventative measure to avoid HIV/AIDs is abstinence from any sexual activity(Olimpo J., Personal communication, HIV lecture, January 16, 2016). If abstinence is not possible, preventative measures such as condoms should be used. Condoms, prevent any fluid from entering the uninfected person(Olimpo J., Personal communication, HIV lecture, January 16, 2016). Blood transfusion should be administered very cautiously to prevent any infected persons from donating blood. If a person is diagnosed with HIV/AID’s their best bet is to undergo Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (Olimpo J., Personal communication, HIV lecture, January 16, 2016). This therapy is not a cure, but it slows down the progression of the disease to allow infected individuals to live the healthiest life possible(What is HAART?, 2012). 

                  I think that all of these preventative measures and treatment are effective. However, realistically I caution public health officials to not exclusively advertise abstinence as a preventative technique, especially adolescents and young adults. It is expected that Sixty two percent of seniors in high school have had sexual intercourse(Adolescent Sexual Behavior:Demographics, n.d.). Therefore, when educating this demographic it is important for people to stress the importance of using precautionary messages such as condoms. 

Lastly, since this disease effects so many people, I think there should be more research conducted. As it stands, of the federal funds dedicated to HIV, only 9% is dedicated to research(U.S. Federal Funding for HIV/AIDs, 2015). The more money that is allotted to research there is a chance that they will be able to find out more about the disease could lead to even more effective drug treatments. 

                                                           References

How is HIV / AIDS transmitted? - San Francisco AIDS Foundation. (n.d.). Retrieved January 22, 2016, from http://sfaf.org/hiv-info/basics/how-is-hiv-transmitted.html?referrer=https://www.google.com/

Who is at Risk for HIV? (2014.). Retrieved January 22, 2016, from https://www.aids.gov/hiv-aids-basics/prevention/reduce-your-risk/who-is-at-risk-for-hiv/

Olimpo J., Personal communication, HIV lecture, January 16, 2016

HIV / AIDS. (n.d.). Retrieved January 22, 2016, from http://www.who.int/immunization/topics/hiv/en/index1.html

What Is HAART? (2012, July). Retrieved January 22, 2016, from http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/research-reports/hivaids/what-haart

Adolescent Sexual Behavior: Demographics. (n.d.). Retrieved January 22, 2016, from http://www.advocatesforyouth.org/publications/publications-a-z/413-adolescent-sexual-behavior-i-demographics

U.S. Federal Funding for HIV/AIDS: The President’s FY 2016 Budget Request. (2015). Retrieved January 22, 2016, from http://kff.org/global-health-policy/fact-sheet/u-s-federal-funding-for-hivaids-the-presidents-fy-2016-budget-request/

diagnosing the disease.
disease 

HIV/AIDS: The basics

        Hello All! This blog is here to give you all the relevant and quick information about Human Immunodeficiency Virus, more commonly referred to as HIV. Approximately 35 million people worldwide are currently living with HIV and 39 million have been killed by this disease.1.2 billion people are infected with in America alone(HIV in the United States: At A Glance, 2015). Of those 1.2 billion people, 12.8% of them are unaware they have this disease(HIV in the United States: At A Glance, 2015). I know-crazy right?

           I know what you are thinking, how did we contract such a horrible disease? It is thought that HIV infected it’s first humans in the 1930’s-1940s. However, HIV was only discovered in 1993(Olimpo J., Personal communication, HIV lecture, January 16, 2016). They found that there were two different types of HIV, HIV1 and HIV2. HIV 1 is responsible for 95% of the cases while HIV2 is a different strain found only in Sub-Saharan Africa(Olimpo J., Personal communication, HIV lecture, January 16, 2016).Scientists believe that HIV was first discovered in 1993(Olimpo J., Personal communication, HIV lecture, January 16, 2016). They found that the source of HIV-1 was from chimpanzees in West Africa(Olimpo J., Personal communication, HIV lecture, January 16, 2016). 

This Disease has three progressions; the acute infection, the clinically latent stage and AIDS(Symptoms of HIV, n.d.). The acute infection occurs when the disease begins to destroy/take over the body’s cluster of differentiation 4(CD4). CD4 is a glycoprotein that is located on the outer layer of helper T cells(the medical dictionary). This take over of CD4 allows the virus to rapidly produce(Symptoms of HIV, n.d.). Your immune system reduces levels of this virus but is unable to completely eliminate it(Symptoms of HIV, n.d.). In the clinical latency stage of HIV, the virus continues to replicate itself but at not as in as much abundance as before(Symptoms of HIV, n.d.) This stage lasts for approximately ten years, but can be slowed down if a person is diagnosed early. The final stage of HIV is called AIDS which is classified by the contraction of opportunistic diseases or CD4 levels lower than below 200 cells per cubic millimeter of blood(Symptoms of HIV, n.d.). If a person has AIDS and is not taking the medication they are usually expected to have one year of life left and three years with medication. 

                  Well how do you know if you have it? The acute stage is characterized by flu like symptoms such as “fever, chills, rashes, night sweats, muscle aches, sore throat, fatigue swollen lymph nodes, and mouth ulcers”(Symptoms of HIV, n.d). The AIDs stage symptoms are rapid weight loss, recurring fever/profuse night sweats, extreme tiredness, swelling of the lymph glands, diarrhea that lasts for longer than a week, soreness of mouth, anus or genitals, pneumonia, discolored blotches of skin under/inside of the mouth, nose, eyelids, and neurological disorders(Symptoms of HIV, n.d.). 

Sheesh, isn’t that scary?! If you believe that you have been in contact with anyone who has HIV/AIDs you should get tested immediately. There are three types of testing for the disease, HIV testing, RNA testing, and a combination test(which is essentially a combination of both tests(What are the different types of HIV testing,. These tests are often confirmed with Western Blotting.

                                                             References

HIV in the United States: At A Glance. (2015). Retrieved January 22, 2016, from http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/statistics/overview/ataglance.html

Olimpo J., Personal communication, HIV lecture, January 16, 2016

Symptoms of HIV. (n.d.). Retrieved January 22, 2016, from https://www.aids.gov/hiv-aids-basics/hiv-aids-101/signs-and-symptoms/

CD4. (n.d.). Retrieved January 22, 2016, from http://medical dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/CD4

What are the different types of HIV testing? - HIV Testing: Learn About Accuracy of Test Results. (n.d.). Retrieved January 22, 2016, from http://www.medicinenet.com/hiv_testing/page2.htm