The prevalence of HIV and AIDS in the developing and third world, and how antiretrovirals are helping to reduce mortality rates

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The prevalence of HIV and AIDS in the developing and third world, and how combination antiretrovirals are helping to reduce mortality rates

                                           

The problem

HIV and AIDS were completely unheard of in the medical community up until the early 1980s, the emergence of these and related illnesses were initially isolated to specific communities, namely male homosexuals, however, the emergence of newly reported cases, which stemmed from blood transfusion patients and also intravenous drug users, prompted a re-evaluation of the underlying biological causes of the blood borne pathogen.

HIV and AIDS are not regionally discriminatory; they are not endemic to any one country, however, several identifiable factors have been shown to influence prevalence rates and high risk status, such as poverty, access to affordable treatment, sexually promiscuous behaviour and intravenous drug use.

The global report[2] compiled jointly by the World Health Organisation and The United Nations currently estimates that, as of 2009, 33.3 million people are infected with HIV worldwide; with 22.5 million of those living in sub-Saharan Africa alone, which accounts for 67% of the HIV distribution worldwide; comparatively, North America has an estimated infected population of 1.5 million people, with a prevalence percentage of just 4.5%. The prevalence of many South America countries is often sidelined in favour of more apparent HIV and AIDS crises, however, given the level of poverty

The pandemic status of HIV and AIDS has become more and more isolated as Westernised medicine led the way in clinical research and preventative measures, developed countries have, as a result of this, benefited exponentially, whereas developing countries have become heavily reliant on the aid of high-income countries.

Throughout the world the death toll, per year, has been increasing rapidly since the onset of HIV and later stage AIDS and is currently responsible for 1.8 million deaths worldwide per year, which roughly equates to 13 deaths every minute. However, figures show that most developed countries have seen a decline in new infections, but this is not the case for underdeveloped countries and nowhere is more severely affected than sub-Saharan Africa and the African epidemic, borne out of financial inequality and a lack of preventative measures is the leading cause of adult deaths in Africa[3] 

 

The data in the image below presents a grim approximation of the future of sub-Saharan Africans given their HIV and AIDS epidemic, it suggests that within the short space of 30 years the number of deaths will have dramatically increased.  

HIV is unable to self-replicate independently, it relies on the enzymes; reverse transcriptase, protease and integrase, these enzymes give it the ability to replicate itself within a human cell. Reverse transcriptase enables the virus to reverse transcribe their RNA into DNA. The new viral DNA is then integrated into the host’s DNA with the aid of the enzyme integrase. Below is a simplistic illustration of the HIV life cycle.

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The transmission of HIV can occur in several ways, vertical transmission between a pregnant mother and child, sexual intercourse via bodily fluids, or using needles that have been used by another person. A test which screens the CD4 count is used as a way of diagnosing HIV; normal CD4 levels should be between 500-1500 per cubic millimetre, a value lower than 200 and they will be suffering from the disease. The weakened immunity of individuals ...

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