AIDS in Africa
By Cole Bui, Cameron Cotton, and Caden Champagne
Background of AIDs
AIDS (Aquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome) is a disease caused by HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus). The disease targets the immune system and weakens it. This makes the infected person not be able to fight off other infections.
Causes of AIDS in Africa
Ways of being infected by HIV:
During sexual activities: You can become infected if you have vaginal, anal, or oral sex with an infected partner.
Blood transfusion: In some cases, the virus may be transmitted though blood transfusions. In countries that are poor, they might not check the blood for HIV.
Sharing needles: Injecting drugs into the blood can cause AIDS.
From mother to child: Infected mothers can pass on HIV to their children.
Location of AIDS
Statistical Information on AIDS
Risk of AIDS though exposure of:
Exposure Chance
__________________________________________________
Blood Transfusion 90%
Childbirth 25%
Needle-sharing injection drug use 0.67%
Needle stick 0.30%
Sexual Intercourse 3.8%
More statistics:
Things that have been done for to cure/help AIDS
The condom can reduce the risk of HIV transmission by 80%.
Antiviral medications during pregnancy and birth in the infant can reduce transmission from mothers to children by 92-99%.
Things that need to be done:
- Cleaning/checking of blood for blood transfusions
- Abstinent until marriage
- No sharing of drug needles
- More education about AIDS to children and teenagers
Plans to address AIDS:
- Educate people about how it is transmitted
- Find a cure
- More prevention techniques
- Hospitals need to test patients
- Make current methods cheaper for people in Africa
Resources:
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HIV/AIDS
- http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001620/
- http://www.southafrica.diplo.de/contentblob/1965880/Galeriebild_gross/199367/Afrika_Aidsaufklrung.jpg
- http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lx11vawhwT1r881wlo1_400.jpg
- http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e6/World_Aids_Day_Ribbon.png
- http://www.hivresearch.org/media/pnc/3/media.333.jpg
- http://www.knowabouthealth.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/Global-AIDS-Statistics-Kaiser-Family-Foundation.jpg