Critically Evaluate the contribution epidemiology has made to the understanding of and policy response to HIV/AIDS

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Critically Evaluate the contribution epidemiology has made to the understanding of and policy response to HIV/AIDS

Human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is seen to be a major killer disease across the globe with increase of people getting infected daily. AIDS is the abbreviation for the acquired immune Deficiency Syndrome which is a condition representing the most serious and often fatal illness resulting form Human immune Deficiency virus (Cusack and Singh 1994).

The pandemic is still an emergency and long term issue since it developed over 30 years ago this means that in order to control and reduce the rate of transmission it will require and exceptional response that remains flexible creative and energetic. (UNAIDS 2004).

This essay will focus on the contribution epidemiology has made to the understanding and policy response of HIV/AIDS using different theoretical approaches, evidence from reports such as prevalence rate, incidence rate, mortality rate and the purpose of epidemiology as well background information. This essay will also highlight background information on biological, nutritional, social and life course Epidemiology for the study on HIV/AIDS.

There are two major types of HIV, which are HIV-1 and HIV-2. HIV-1 Virus is the predominant AIDS related virus and HIV-2 is a genetic but biologically different second type of AIDS related virus. (Pratt 2003). Since the epidemic began there have been initiatives introduced by the government with the contribution epidemiologist has made to investigate the number of people exposed to the virus, the cost needed has increased over years as to provide the necessary resources to where it’s needed efficiently.

In the twenty first century Epidemiology was drawing on conclusions from biology and sociology to biostatistics and philosophy of science which investigates the causes of human disease and their methods for their control (Yarnell 2007). Moon et al (2000) defines Epidemiology as the study of patterns of disease occurrence in human populations and the factors that influence these patterns. In contrast, Yarnell (2007) highlights that Epidemiology adopts a population approach to the study of the distribution and determinants of disease.

Importantly, epidemiology studies are designed to investigate the causes of disease and its attempt to measure the level of disease in a population by prevalence and incidence rate. From an epidemiologist perspective, a disease may have a single entry which is bacteria or virus, or a combination of causes  which have become so broad that epidemiologist have to work in different levels of diagnostic to come to a conclusion (Yarnell 2007). HIV is an infectious disease which can also be passed from mother to infant, for an infectious disease like HIV the infectious agent is clearly a factor necessary for the development of the disease, such factor is known as the necessary cause (Yarnell 2007)

A group of factors work together to produce multiple causes of HIV/AIDS therefore it is the role of the epidemiologist to analyse as many causal factors as possible to determine their contribution to the development of the disease (Yarnell 2007). AIDS is not a new disease since its first case was diagnosed in 1981; it began to increase rapidly and since then the world has introduced initiatives and new ways of tackling this deadly virus by using different epidemiological approaches to understand HIV/AIDS and the prevention of the disease.

In the early decade of the epidemic, the only sources of data available at that time for assessing the epidemic were national AIDS surveillance registries which was established in the 1980’s, mainly in North America, Europe, Australia, and other developed countries but over the last three decades the approaches used for assessing HIV/AIDS has expanded given a more understanding as to why HIV/AIDS occur (Brookmeyer 2010)

The HIV prevalence is the number of people in the population suffering from a disease. World Aids Day progress report 2011 illustrates that a total of 27 million people acquired the HIV infection in 2010 down from 3.1 million in 2001 contributing to 34 million people living with HIV as of 2010, other statistics includes 2.7 million newly infected Adults and Children with 0.8% prevalence rates and 1.8 deaths due to aids. Amongst those infected it is said that 97% are in low and middle income countries with 1000 children under 15 years of age and 6000 Adults aged 15years and older of which 48% are women and 42% young people aged 15-24 years old. (World Aids Day progress report 2011)  

As mentioned before HIV/AIDS is a major health problem in Sub-Saharan Africa were this deadly disease is most intense  where it is estimated that 22.9 million adults and children living with HIV/AIDS  and 1.2 Adults and child deaths  due to AIDS. (World Aids Day report 2011). It is said that another virus relating to HIV has emerged which called HIV-2 which is found in African countries like Senegal and Ivory Coast, where the disease probably spread through the immigration of sex workers within the urban areas (Villarreal et al 1994). In contrast to this epidemiologist highlights that only in Africa that HIV is generalised with nearly the same number of men and women suffering from the disease. (Marum et al 2002).

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Furthermore, whilst the number of adults and children infected with HIV and AIDS is increasing rapidly in other continents of the world such as Asia, there is an increase of HIV infection amongst commercial sex workers and drug users in India (Villarreal et al 1994).  According to Word Aids Day report (2011) statistics shows that 4.0 million adults and children from south and south East Asia are living with HIV with Adult prevalence of 0.3% and Adult and child death due to AIDS was 250,000, In East Asia the figures of adult and children living with HIV was 790,000, ...

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