HIV: Description, Status, and Global Implications

Communicable Diseases
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Communicable Disease
Introduction
A communicable disease is also referred to as an infectious or transmittable disease. It is a disease that can pass between human beings and animals. Pathogens, viruses, or fungi mainly cause it. Direct contact with an infected person and contaminated body fluids, insect bites like a mosquito, and contaminated foods and drinks can transfer infectious diseases. Communicable diseases that affect a large population within a short period and are called pandemics. The most common communicable diseases in the world are hepatitis, tuberculosis, HIV, and malaria. This paper will major on HIV, one of the major communicable diseases caused by a virus globally.
HIV
HIV means Human Immunodeficiency Virus. The virus attacks the white blood cells of the body that help to fight diseases, and the infected person becomes prone to other infectious diseases. The virus cannot be treated since it attaches itself to the human cells, making it a lifelong or terminal condition. However, it is manageable. According to research, HIV originated from a chimpanzee in Central Africa which suffered the Simian immunodeficiency virus and probably became a human disease after eating its meat in the 1800s and later spread worldwide. In the United States, the virus was known to exist in the mid to late 1970s. The virus has continued to be a global concern, with a record of about 38 million people living with the virus by the end of 2019; among them, 68% of adults and 53% of children were receiving medications (Hodder, Feinberg, Strathdee, Shoptaw, Altice, Ortenzio, & Beyrer, 2021). In the United States, it is approximate that around 1.1. million are living with the virus, and there are about 38000 new infections each year.
HIV Causes, Symptoms, Mode of Transmission, Complications, Treatment, and Demographic of Interest
Causes
HIV is caused by the contamination between the body fluids of an infected and non-infected person. These body fluids include blood, semen, vaginal fluids, and breast milk. However, from debates and research, saliva has been said to inferior in spreading the disease since people can kiss and share spoons and other dining equipment without spreading the disease (Cihlar & Fordyce, 2016). HIV infections start to show themselves between 2-4 weeks after infection, but one can only be sure after an HIV test.
Symptoms
Some of the mild symptoms include mouth ulcers, fever, muscle aches, swollen glands, upset stomach, rash, and sore throats. These symptoms last for a maximum of two weeks and occur during the acute primary infection stage that is the first stage. The symptoms occur as the body is undergoing the seroconversion process, trying to fight against HIV. The second stage of the infection is the asymptomatic stage, clinical latency, or chronic HIV infection (Cihlar & Fordyce, 2016). At this stage, the viruses are still multiplying but failing to show any signs. However, the infected can transmit the virus; this stage can last for 10-15 years. AIDS is the last stage of HIV, and the body immunity is usually already weakened by the virus. Some of the symptoms include weight loss, high fever and sweating, diarrhea, mouth sores, memory loss, dry cough, and blurred vision. At this stage, a person is prone to infection of various diseases as the body lacks enough white blood cells.
Mode of Transmission
As earlier discussed, HIV is caused by contact of body fluids between a healthy and infected person. A person can contract the disease through sexual intercourse due to the vaginal fluids and semen (Cihlar & Fordyce, 2016). Blood can also transmit the disease through a blood transfusion and sharing of piercing objects. Breastfeeding can cause transmission from a mother to their child. HIV is diagnosed in the body through antibody or nucleic acid tests involving blood or saliva testing.
Complications
HIV infection comes along with other complications and infections called opportunistic infections. Some of the illnesses are herpes that causes consistent mouth sores, candidiasis that causes a white coating on the skin and nails. Also, pneumonia and tuberculosis are lung conditions and can be life-threatening to HIV patients. Cervical cancer can also be common among women with HIV. There are also neurological infections like toxoplasmosis that is an opportunistic disease and causes inflammation of the brain (McArthur, Brew, & Nath, 2005). Digestion and food dieting are also caused by Mycobacterium Avium Complex (MAC), leading to weight loss and food indigestion. Besides, mental health conditions and disorders may also occur due to the trauma, self-negligence, and stress associated with the disease.
Treatment
Though HIV is a lifelong illness, some treatments can be administered to the patients to prevent transmission to others. The most common treatment is called antiretroviral therapy (ART). These medications should be taken in the early stages to boost immunity and slow the reproduction and impact of the virus in the body. Prolonged use of the medications makes the virus undetectable though it is still in the body (Cihlar & Fordyce, 2016). Healthy dieting is also considered a treatment for HIV patients; eating a balanced diet and drinking a lot of water helps in boosting an individual’s immunity. In the recent past, due to the introduction of ART, there are fewer mortality cases. People have also learned to embrace the infected people, and cases of trauma and stress are reduced, hence reducing suicidal cases.
Reportable Status of HIV
HIV is not necessarily a reportable case unless the services needed require one to disclose their HIV status. It can be reportable in health facilities to allow the doctors to identify the mode of treatments and care accorded. More so, in some countries, ART is given for free hence one needs to report their status to access the services.
Social Determinants of Health
Healthy people, 2020 is a program in the United States that aims at improving the health status of its people divide the determinant of health into five categories. They include economic stability, education, health, and health care, built environment, and social environment; economic stability refers to the employment rates and income-generating factors. Education refers to the access of schools and other learning institutions to equip people with knowledge. Health services include access to quality and upgraded health care facilities and services. Built and physical environment is concerned with the condition of the surrounding area of residence and crowding conditions (Lunn, Cui, Zack, Thompson, Blank, & Yehia, 2017). The social environment refers to discrimination, income levels and educational level, and marital status. These social determinants have had a great influence on HIV. Globally, there has been a decrease in economic stability due to the high cost of living forcing people to engage in unacceptable businesses like prostitution to meet their needs. Such cases have contributed to the increase in HIV infection in the world. The population has been increasing globally, making people live in slums and crowded places, preventing diseases like HIV due to sharing some equipment like needles. The social environment differs among people, but where the population has high and reasonable income and educational levels, diseases like HIV and other infectious diseases are rare. Health is crucial in managing contagious diseases. Availability of quality and cheap health care is important. It is evident in countries that give ART drugs for free; all the infected persons can control the virus easily without strain regardless of their income levels. Education Is also key. In some developing countries, some people are unaware of the HIV drug that minimizes the spread of the virus. Lack of education hence causes more dangers and increased mortality cases related to HIV.
Epidemiologic Triangle
An epidemiologic t...