infectious disease Essay

Submitted By ambermcdonald2224
Words: 886
Pages: 4
Open Document
HIV/AIDS is a worldwide phenomenon that has affected so many people and killed millions over time. HIV stands for human immunodeficiency virus and AIDS stands for Auto immune deficiency syndrome. HIV is an infection that is sexually transmitted. Others ways it can be spread is through blood, from a mother during pregnancy, and through breast-feeding. HIV weakens your immune system to the point where you get AIDS. AIDS is a life threatening chronic condition with no cure. Symptoms for HIV/AIDS depend on what phase of the infection you are in. There are four different phases which include primary infection, clinical latent infection, early symptomatic HIV infection, and progression to AIDS. In the primary infection phase, people can have flu-like symptoms such as fever, muscle soreness, rash, headache, and sore throat. These symptoms usually show up within a month or two of the body being infected with the virus, and can last up to a few weeks. In this phase is also when the virus amount is its highest in the blood stream. The clinical latent infection phase there are no specific signs or symptoms but maybe some occasional swelling of the lymph nodes. This phase can last up to 10 years, where the HIV virus remains in the body and white blood cells. During the early symptomatic HIV infection phase the virus starts to multiply and destroy the immune cells. You can start to get more mild infections and chronic symptoms which include, fatigue, weight loss, diarrhea, and cough with shortness of breath. By the time you enter the progression to AIDS phase your immune system is severely damaged and diseases that a healthy immune system could fight off can become life threatening. A virus that was similar to HIV was first found in a certain type of monkey and chimps that were located in Africa. Scientists believe that the hunters that came in contact with the infected monkeys or chimps were infected with the virus and the cross of it into a humans body turned it into HIV. A person can be infected with HIV through blood, semen, and vaginal secretions that enter the body. Some of the ways you can become infected is through sex, blood transfusions, sharing needles, and through a mother during pregnancy. You cannot get the HIV virus from kissing, or touching an infected person, nor can you get it through the air or water. When HIV/AIDS first became know in the United States it was thought that it only affected homosexual men because that’s who was mostly affected by it. Of course we now know that HIV can affect any race, age, or sexual orientation. Although someone who is having unprotected sex, has another sexually transmitted disease, or is using intravenous drug is at a higher risk than someone who is not. You can test for HIV through blood or saliva to see if there are any antibodies to the virus in it, but this test can be inaccurate if you have just contracted the virus. There is a new test out that can find a protein that the virus produces within days of a person being infected. Though there is no cure for HIV/AIDS, there are many different drugs that can control the virus prolonging life. A combination of drugs is used, at least 3 different kinds. This is done so that you body and the virus does not get immune to one single drug. Some of the anti-HIV drugs that are used are non nucleoside and nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors, protease
Show More

Related Documents: infectious disease Essay

Difference Between Infectious And Non Infectious Diseases

2.1 distinguish between infectious and non-infectious disease An infectious disease is one that is caused by and organism and that can be transferred from one person to another. The transfer maybe direct, where the disease-causing organisms, such as viruses or bacteria, pass directly from person to person for example. “Chicken pox” Non-infectious diseases are diseases that are not due to disease-causing organisms E.G down syndrome 2.1 identify the conditions under which an organism is described…

Words 652 - Pages 3

Infectious Disease: The Influenza

Influenza is an infectious disease, commonly known as the flu. In past flu seasons the flu has been common across the country, but for the first time in the Center For Disease Control’s, The CDC, 13 years of monitoring the flu it has become widespread across every region of the country. Is this marking a dramatic increase in the flus effect and our ways of dealing with it? The answer to that and other questions about this year's flu season will be answered below. With the CDC’s splash page being…

Words 383 - Pages 2

A Brief Note On Infectious Diseases

Infectious Diseases Kostas Mamtsaderis Part.Government Regents Mr. Sarandrea 5 January 2015 Kostas Mamtsaderis Mr. Sarandrea Part. Government 16 December 2014 Infectious Diseases Disorders caused by organisms, such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites, are know as infectious diseases. A lot of these different organisms live in and on our bodies. Under certain conditions, some organisms may cause disease, but they’re normally harmless or even helpful. Some infectious diseases…

Words 1090 - Pages 5

Infectious Disease HIV/AIDS

HCA/240 March 24, 2013 Jerrica Ampadu Infectious Disease HIV/AIDS “AIDS stands for acquired immune deficiency syndrome and is the final stage of the infection caused by the virus called HIV or Human Immunodeficiency Virus. The virus causes severe damage to the immune system.” (DR Ananya Mandal). The Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) was identified in 1983 the pathogen responsible for the Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome…

Words 953 - Pages 4

List of Infectious Disease Essay

It can happen when someone with tuberculosis coughs, speaks, sneezes, spits, laughs or sings. symptoms fever loss of appetite fatigue unintentional weight loss chest pain coughing that lasts up to a few weeks malaria: how it spreads uninfected mosquito gets the disease from feeding on a person with malaria→ the mosquito can transmit malaria parasites to you→ parasites move to the liver→ they mature and infect red blood cells→ cycle repeats in others symptoms chills high fever profuse sweating headache…

Words 975 - Pages 4

Infectious Disease and Ola Salem Essay

s-proposed-uae-law-states By: Ola Salem May 15, 2013 As we all know here in the UAE and almost every other country, after birth, every baby born is entitled to follow a nationwide immunization plan, according to a federal law on communicable diseases passed to the FNC here in the UAE. Which is basically a vaccination system or scheduled vaccinations that they have to undertake and follow for several months or years to ensure a better tomorrow for their child The article that I found was by Ola…

Words 396 - Pages 2

Mery: Infectious Disease and Laboratories Chimpanzees Essay

(TSEs) which is a neurodegenerative disease caused by an abnormal proteinaceous particle termed a “prion.” Chimpanzees became seriously ill and, their response to the disease was identical to humans. The behavioral changes, weakness of extremities, impaired coordination, mental confusion, blindness, and paralysis were the symptoms of TSEs. All three chimpanzees died suffering from that disease. Researchers use chimpanzees for the study of infectious diseases also. One of them is the human immunodeficiency…

Words 627 - Pages 3

Essay on Infectious Disease and Measles Cases

Community Health Communicable Disease: Measles Renae Fitzgerald, R.N. Western Governors University Community Health Communicable Disease: Measles The recent outbreak stemming from exposure at an amusement park in the California has brought attention to the continuing global impact of measles ("Measles Outbreak CA," 2015). The measles is a viral disease primarily effecting unvaccinated children and adults, however, is known to affect vaccinated individuals. The purpose of this paper is to describe…

Words 1629 - Pages 7

Non communicable disease vs infectious disease essay (A grade)

non-communicable and an infectious disease Coronary heart disease (CHD) is when your coronary arteries (the arteries that supply your heart muscle with oxygen-rich blood) become narrowed by a gradual build-up of fatty material within their walls called atheroma’s which can lead to other health problems such as heart attacks and aneurysms etc. This is a non-communicable disease. Human immunodeficiency virus infection (HIV) / acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDs) is an infectious disease of the human immune…

Words 1372 - Pages 6

Infectious Disease and Tiny White Spots Essay

with single-stranded RNA Common Name: Measles Scientific Name: Rubella Overview/History: The earliest written description of measles as a disease, was in the 9th century, by a scientist who described some differences between measles and smallpox in his medical notes. In 1757, Francis Homes demonstrated that measles was caused by an infectious agent present in the blood of patients. In 1954 the virus that causes measles was isolated in Boston, by John Enders and Thomas Peebles. Before the…

Words 350 - Pages 2