There actually was a time where AIDS did not exist. I vaguely remember when it seemed to just freakishly appear out of nowhere. Back in the 80’s as a young child, I recall hearing about the first cases of this horrible disease that no one knew about or understood and was taking so many lives. Anyone that was diagnosed basically received their death sentence, period, end of story. The disease affected people of every race, creed, color, sexual orientation and financial status. It was, and still is, a global pandemic tormenting all types of people all over the world. Read More
Differences between HIV and AIDS
Ever since its discovery in 1981, HIV/AIDS has killed almost 25
million people (as of 2008) but most people are still confused and do
not have a proper understanding of the difference between the two.
HIV is acronym for Human Immunodeficiency Virus. It is a lentivirus, a
genus of slow viruses of the Retroviridae family, generally known as a
retrovirus. A retrovirus is an RNA virus that replicates in the host
cell and elicits reverse transcription in RNA strands of a normally
functioning cell. This basically violates the “central dogma of
biology.”
Transmission of HIV
HIV is transmitted through three main routes:
- through the sexual route, due to unprotected sex
- through infected blood – when it comes in contact with any open
wound, through a blood transfusion or through poor hygiene while using
injection equipment
- from mother to child, during pregnancy, at childbirth or through
breast feeding
Two species of HIV are known and they are called HIV-1 and HIV-2.
HIV-2 transmits less frequently through the sexual and mother-to-child
route than HIV-1.
HIV Infection
HIV infection gradually decreases T-cell count and increases viral
load (the severity of infection). A T-cell is small lymphocyte that
develops in the thymus and directs the immune system’s response to
infected or malignant cells. Decrease in T-cell count renders the
immune system ineffective.
HIV infection has four stages – incubation, acute infection, the
latent stage and AIDS. In the incubation period, HIV infection does
not show any symptoms. Acute infection normally lasts for 28 days and
manifests symptoms that include fever, swollen lymph nodes, sore
throat, muscle pain, rash, general feeling of discomfort (out of
sorts) and sores in the mouth and esophagus. The latent stage may last
for 2 weeks or as long as twenty years or more but usually does not
present any significant symptoms. The final and the most dreaded
stage of HIV infection is Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome,
generally known as AIDS.
What is AIDS?
As is evident from the name, AIDS is an immune disease. It is a
progressive disease that inhibits the effectiveness of the human
immune system, which in turn, greatly increases chances of
opportunistic infections and tumors. Symptoms of AIDS are mostly due
to pathogens disease causing bacteria, viruses, parasites and fungi
that are otherwise effectively controlled by a healthy immune system.
This can lead to a wide range of infections such as pulmonary,
gastrointestinal infections along with low grade fever and weight
loss. The patient also carries an enhanced risk of several types of
cancer. AIDS also has a neurological impact, either due to the
susceptibility of a weak nervous system or as a direct result of the
disease itself. HIV/AIDS infected brain macrophages and microglia
lead to a metabolic brain disease known as AIDS dementia complex.
Some of the symptoms of the acute stage of HIV infection such as flu
like symptoms are similar to that of AIDS and also mimic many other
diseases. HIV infection does not occur unless there is a direct
exposure to the virus. A person with HIV infection is diagnosed as
having AIDS upon detecting the presence of one or more opportunistic
infections such as pneumonia or tuberculosis or an abnormally low
count of T-cells.
HIV/AIDS cannot be diagnosed on the basis of symptoms alone. The only
sure way of knowing is through an HIV test. There are a number of
tests such as a viral load test and the CD4 test. A home HIV
test is fast and does not require visiting in person a clinic or
advanced laboratory facilities.
National HIV Testing Day – June 27
Sunday, June 27 is National HIV Testing Day, and a great opportunity for communities all over the United States to get together and normalize HIV testing. There will be free testing available in many communities this weekend, and we also wanted to make it easier for those that prefer at home testing to test themselves. So we have lowered the prices on our Express (now $54.95) and Standard kits (now $44.95) and are for a limited time offering free First Class Mail shipping with the purchase of a home HIV test. All you have to do is enter the coupon hivday in the coupon code section of the cart and click “Apply Coupon.”
We encourage everyone to get tested if they can. As we wrote earlier this month, in some parts of the US the incidence level of HIV is higher than it is in some African countries (see: “More Adults Have HIV in Washington, D.C. than Rwanda”). It doesn’t have to be this way – take an easy to do HIV test this weekend. Fight the stigma and know your status.
(Banner photo is of the iconic red ribbon at the White House, 2007).
More Adults Have HIV in Washington, D.C. Than Rwanda
Although we sometimes think of HIV/AIDS as a global problem, it’s important to shine a light back on how it affects us at home. The New England Journal of Medicine recently revealed that 1 in 30 adults in Washington, D.C. are infected with HIV – a greater prevalence than the rates in Ethiopia, Rwanda, or Nigeria.
There are many countries with less serious HIV/AIDS problems than the US. According to the New England Journal of Medicine, Washington, D.C. would fall in the 2 to 5 percent range, the first shade of brown/red. Click to expand.
What is the solution to this dilemma? According to Brad Ogilvie of the Mosaic Initiative, the answer is to get tested.
In an article by Jennifer Grant in the Chicago Tribune, Ogilvie describes the mission and strategy of his organization. Their goals are to ensure everyone knows their HIV status and to expand home testing from the FDA Approved blood tests (that we currently carry) to other types of test, including a saliva test. This would make the cost of getting an HIV self test only $8 instead of $50. The technology is available and put to use in clinics each day but such tests are just not available over the counter yet.
Why aren’t these tests available over the counter? This question has caused some frustration among HIV/AIDS activists such as Ogilvie. The primary reasons seems to be concern that a person might self test incorrectly. Here is a list from The Body of the conditions that are placed on the sale of rapid HIV tests:
“1. Sale is restricted to clinical laboratories that have
- an adequate quality assurance program, including planned systematic activities to provide adequate confidence that requirements for quality will be met, and
- where there is assurance that operators will receive and use the instructional materials.”
2. The test is approved for use only by an agent of a clinical laboratory.
3. Test subjects must receive a “Subject Information” pamphlet and pre-test counseling prior to specimen collection and appropriate counseling when test results are provided.
4. The test is not approved for use to screen blood, cell, plasma, or tissue donors.”
Do you think that sales should continue to be restricted? Or should such tests be available in the home market? Let us know what you think and remember that you can still obtain anonymous HIV testing with a home HIV test today.
7 Things You Should Do To Protect Against HIV/AIDS
AIDS or Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, as we all know today is caused by HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus). The moment one is infected with HIV the human body starts to fight the infection by producing specific antibodies. The HIV/AIDS tests that are performed in laboratories or the home HIV test looks for these antibodies to detect the presence of HIV in the system.
While not everyone who is infected with HIV may start to show any symptoms, it is a known fact that the HIV/AIDS virus tires and weakens the immune system over time. Other viruses, fungi and bacteria find it easy to attack your body. These opportunistic infections cause a lot of harm and the human immune system is not able to fight back adequately.
How Does HIV Spread?
The only manner in which you can fight HIV/AIDS is to ensure that you are not infected with the virus. And therefore it is pertinent for you to understand the manner in which the virus spreads. The HIV/AIDS virus spreads in three ways – sexual transmission, blood transmission and mother to child transmission. While the specific method or manner may differ, these are the three main ways in which the virus spreads.
Symptoms of acute HIV infection.
Things You Can Do To Protect Against HIV/AIDS
With adequate knowledge of the manner in which the HIV/AIDS virus spreads, there are various things that you can do to ensure that you protect yourself against the virus.
1. Abstain from sex till you are older and make sure that you delay having sex for the first time until you are old enough to not get carried away and forget to take adequate preventive measures.
2. Practice the equivalent of monogamy and try and be faithful to one partner. This will ensure that you are not indulging in sex with those whom you do not know too well. It is assumed here that sex in a relationship will be caring and therefore your partner shall let you know if there is an issue and protect you from getting infected with HIV/AIDS if he already has been infected in some manner or another.
3. Irrespective of the situation, abstain from sex unless you or your partner have a condom that you can use. Make sure that the condom that you purchase is made by a reputed company and that it has not been lying around in your closet or cabinet for months (in other words, make sure it is not expired!).
4. Comprehensive sex education has been shown to reduce the incidence of HIV/AIDS in communities. It is obviously essential that the communication be modified to suit the specific requirements of the community in terms of detail, language and explicitness. The education also needs to be practical. Asking teenagers to abstain from sex until marriage without any further explanation may not work in specific cultures.
5. Sharing of equipment (needles, etc.) while indulging in recreational drugs is another very common method in which the HIV/AIDS virus spreads. While a drug rehabilitation program and giving up an addiction are the best options, those who are not able to kick the habit must make sure that they do not reuse needles.
6. It is essential that you ensure a disposable one-use syringe is being used every time you are injected (at a hospital, for example). Though this is the norm in all medical institutions, greater caution does not hurt anyone in the case of HIV/AIDS.
7. In case you need blood to be transfused into your body after an accident or for some other reason, make sure the blood has been tested completely for HIV/AIDS.
The mother-child transmission of the HIV/AIDS virus is the most difficult to manage. However, this can also be attended to by using antiretroviral drugs that need to be administered during pregnancy and delivery. In some cases a caesarean section is helpful.
While these protection methods should be adhered to at all times, it is also necessary that you know your HIV status. This is especially true for the times when you do not stick to any of the aforementioned prevention methods. You can always test yourself privately and anonymously with an FDA Approved home HIV test. Early detection helps prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS and can result in a better lifestyle after you contract the HIV/AIDS virus too.
You can check out our FDA Approved home HIV test kits here.
- Article by Anne Hamilton
A History of the HIV Epidemic
HIV is a recent discovery and not much is known about its history prior to 1980. If HIV infection and AIDS did exist then it was marked by silence because human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) was not known and infection did not manifest symptoms prominent enough to be noticed.
Initial History of HIV
What led to the discovery of HIV and consequently to AIDS was the sudden occurrence in 1981 of Kaposi’s Sarcoma, a rare and an indolent form of benign cancer usually associated with the elderly, in gay men in New York. At about the same time, in California, a sudden surge in demand for the drug pentamine pointed towards an increase in the number of cases of a rare lung infection known as Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP). PCP occurs in infants or in persons with impaired immune systems. Whatever assumptions that were made about the possible causes were shown to be unfounded and HIV and AIDS still remained unknown.
Till that time it was considered that there was no risk from transmission and contagion to non-homosexuals as no case was reported outside the gay community. But by the end of the year, it became apparent the disease affected other population groups as well. Cases of PCP were reported among abusers using injections for delivery of drugs. This was also the time when the first case of HIV/AIDS was documented in the UK.
In June 1982, a group of cases among gay men suggested that the infectious agent could be transmitted sexually. In the US, 452 cases in 23 states had been reported by July 1982. Reports started filtering in of similar cases from Haiti and hemophiliac camps.
In September 1982, the Center for Disease Control defined the disease as Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome or AIDS. It was an appropriate name for a set of diseases (syndrome) caused by an immune deficiency that was not inherited but acquired.
A startling discovery was made in 1999. A similar virus, simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) was discovered among simians in Africa.
How SIV became HIV
It was suggested that zoonosis (an animal disease that can be transmitted to humans) took place either due to eating the killed animal or infected blood getting into human wounds or a polio vaccine prepared from local chimps infected with SIV. Whatever the route, it is now generally accepted that HIV is a descendant of SIV. This is mainly because certain strains of SIV closely resemble the two types of HIV, HIV-1 and HIV-2.
How Did HIV Spread So Rapidly?
Disposable plastic syringes appeared on the scene in the 1950s. These were considered to be cheap as well as a more sterile method of injecting medicine. However, it is thought that in poor African nations doctors did not stick to a one-needle-one-injection formula due to the great cost of inoculation programs. Injecting multiple patients with one needle without sterilization could have led to rapid transmission of HIV infected blood from one person to another.
The world has become a smaller place with convenient means of fast travel. International travel by young men to take advantage of the gay revolution during the seventies and eighties may have played a part in taking HIV worldwide. HIV can also be transmitted through unprotected sex. Lack of awareness during the early years (and even now) can also be considered to a major reason for the fast spread of HIV.
Blood transfusion is part of medical treatments. In many countries, donors are paid to give blood. These were people who were desperate for cash and intravenous drug users could be among them. What made matters worse was the fact that doctors were unaware of HIV transmission and that it could spread so fast.
The HIV epidemic and the consequent disease, AIDS, along with the dangers associated with it, has led to extensive research. It is now possible to determine the presence of HIV in blood or plasma. There are even home HIV test kits that can be used to determine HIV infection with the same accuracy as a clinic or hospital without the need of having to go to a clinic.
Be sure you don’t have HIV. Take an anonymous home HIV test today.
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