World AIDS Day: Spreading Awareness

The very first World’s AIDS day was celebrated on December 1, 1988. Since then, World AIDS day has helped in spreading global awareness in regard to battling HIV, the Human Immunodeficiency Virus. This virus is responsible for causing AIDS, which stands for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. 

HIV targets the immunity of a person and makes them weak. As the day-by-day person gets weaker, the risk of getting life-ending infections and cancers are very high. This stage is called AIDS.

Worlds AIDS day was started to display support for people suffering from HIV and people who have passed away due to this disease. 

History about the HIV Cases:

HIV/AIDS cases rose to a serious level of awareness in the 1980s and 1990s, it is a very dangerous infection to date. Since the pandemic, approx. 78 million people have been infected with HIV and around 35 million have died cause of this infection. Many children were affected in sub-Saharan Africa and were affected by their mothers who were positive. In 2015, 1.1 million people lose their lives to AIDS. 

Understanding the Transmission:

HIV/AIDS virus can spread through several different ways like,

• Sexual Contact – This is the most common way of the HIV virus spreading. The virus enters from one body to another through sexual contact. 
• Blood Contamination – AIDS virus also transmits through contact with infected blood. Due to this risk from blood contamination, HIV blood transfusion is very low.
• Needle or Syringe – HIV/AIDS spreads very fast if needles, syringes, or any medical equipment is shared with the infected person. 
• Mother-Infant – Newborn babies can also get affected by breastfeeding the infected mother.

Protection leads to Prevention:

Studies tell that HIV transmits at a very high rate through sexual contact with an infected person – so it is always very necessary to carry protection with you. Doesn’t matter if you plan to have sexual intercourse or not, always carry condoms with you for the sake of protection for yourself and your partner. Do not get shy talking about these things like protection, intercourse, and all, after all, it is the whole ideology of the AIDS awareness program to educate everyone that there is nothing wrong with discussing sexual health.

Treatment Options for HIV AIDS:

HIV is called a retrovirus, and the drug used for the treatment is called antiretroviral and is given in the combination with other ARVs in antiretroviral therapy. These medicines gradually slow down the progression of the virus in the body, although there is still no cure for this disease. ART has helped a lot of people to date, it does not totally destroy the virus, but it keeps you up and running for many years and reduce the risk of spread.

Conclusion:

India has approx. 2 million people living with HIV. Educate yourself and people around you about AIDS symptoms and prevention, it is important to talk to your children and educate them about the aspects of the virus. So that they do not take any step and get infected.