The first time I ever heard anything about HIV and AIDS was from the musical RENT. I did not know very much, I later found out when a clinician in Uganda named Emmanuel proceeded to teach me everything he knows about the conditions.
**This is not a complete history, discussion, or analysis of HIV/AIDS. For more information visit the CDC website for up-to-date facts and discoveries.**
Human Immunodeficiency Virus is the virus that causes AIDS. Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome is a disease interfering with the immune systems ability to defend the body. People with AIDS are more likely to get other common infections and opportunistic infections that a healthy immune system would be able to fight off, such as pneumonia or tuberculosis.
Transmission of HIV is through bodily fluids: blood, semen or vaginal fluid and breast milk. Sexual transmission is most common, through unsafe sex. Blood transfusions used to be common but they have been virtually eradicated through increased screening processes.
There is no known vaccination for HIV or cure for HIV/AIDS. Prevention is the most efficient way to avoid the disease but there is hope for those who have been exposed. Antiretroviral treatments have been developed to successfully increase the quality of life and prolong the lives of those infected.
At the HOPE Orphanage in Ssetta, they had four HIV positive orphans.
AIDS was first reported in Los Angeles, California in 1981. It is commonly thought to be only prevalent in homosexual individuals because it was first diagnosed in five homosexual men and the most high profile cases were famous homosexual men. HIV/AIDS does not know sexual orientation though. It also does not know race. While HIV is rampant around Africa, there are still 1.2 million people living in the United States with HIV.
When I was in Uganda, I worked with Emmanuel doing HIV tests at the Lugazi University Clinic. We offered free tests to University students and their families as well as counseling about HIV prevention and treatments. Testing is very simple and cost-friendly. You prick the finger of the patient to release a small amount of blood that is then put onto a test strip. After waiting about five minutes, the strips can be read: one line means negative while two lines means positive. A positive test calls for a secondary test to rule-out false positives. If this second test says positive then it is sure but if it says negative, a third "tie-breaker" test is performed.
The test is checking for antibodies for HIV in your blood. If those antibodies are present, then you are positive. It does take some time for the antibodies to develop in the body, so if infection just occurred, a secondary testing session six months later is necessary.
University workers waiting for test results in the clinic.
The Ugandan government has successfully adopted the ABC campaign for teaching about HIV/AIDS: Abstinence, Be faithful, Contraceptive (if a and b fail). Promoting this campaign in schools, hospitals, and clinics has dramatically decreased the percentage of HIV infected citizens but HIV/AIDS in Uganda is still considered to be an issue.
There is still a lack of knowledge among people in Uganda about the dangers of HIV even with all of the informational campaigns circulating. The availability of treatment drugs and prevention tactics are little known in rural villages. Contrast that with all the knowledge about the dangers and difficulties of HIV that we know here in America and this next fact will shock you.
Tuesday, November 29, 2011 the Center for Disease Control and Prevention released a new estimate that only 28 percent of the 1.2 million people living with HIV in the US are receiving treatments.
With all our knowledge and information, why are 72 percent of infected individuals not being treated?
Equipment required for HIV testing: test strips, antiseptic wipes, clean and sterile needles.
HIV is highly contagious when you come in contact with the bodily fluids of an infected individual. During one HIV testing session in the village of Kyunga, Uganda, clinician Emmanuel pricked a patient's finger to draw his blood and dropped the contaminated needle onto his foot, drawing a small amount of his own blood. That small interaction of blood could have proved devastating for Emmanuel if the patient had tested HIV positive. Luckily for all involved, the patient was negative. But Emmanuel still needed to be aware that he needed a follow-up test six months later to be sure that there was no transmission of the virus.
I met a 22 year old man named Henry during my first time working with Emmanuel at the University clinic. I spoke with Henry about why he was getting tested. He said that he wanted to know his status. It is important to know your HIV status because that can drastically change your whole life. A positive status pretty much means a death sentence. There are pills and treatments and counseling but there are also immense risks and dangers involved with having HIV. He didn't want to be in dark anymore about where his life was going.
Then he asked if I had been tested. I said no. He asked why I didn't want to know my status. I told him I already knew I was negative because I had not participated in the risky behavior that leads to transmission. But after I explained that, I still felt uneasy. The next time I worked with Emmanuel, I asked him to test me. After sterilizing my finger and opening a new needle and testing strip, Emmanuel administered the test and I was able to experience the unease that each other person in the waiting room felt while waiting for their results. The unknown.
The others who were tested on the day that I was. Three other volunteers on my team were tested.
During my results consultation, I was informed that I was negative. It really was a surprisingly big relief to hear the words even though I already knew. The weight of the unknown was off my shoulders and I could then say with certainty that I was HIV-negative.
Negative tests in hand with Emmanuel after we all found out our results.
There are still millions of people who cannot say those words though. People who live with the weight of HIV on them each day. Holding their status in their hands and knowing that it will eventually kill them. HIV/AIDS is still majorly prevalent in the world, even in the United States.
December 1 is World AIDS Day. The one day a year to focus purely on AIDS. To spread awareness. To let the victims of HIV/AIDS know that they are not alone, and that someone cares about them. So this year Represent to Prevent and help us get to zero.
