HIV/AIDs
This paper explores a global infectious disease, HIV/AIDs, to make a recommendation on prevention strategies of an outbreak. Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a disease that attacks the body’s immune system making it incapable of fighting the infection and other illnesses. The virus which scientists believe came from a chimpanzee in around 1920 was only known in 981 when it spread out to many people. Although the origin is Congo, an outbreak started in America, Spain, Swaziland, and France. This paper covers the disease development and spreading with exact years of occurrence. The study also explores HIV epidemiologic triage, revealing that it spreads through ordinary social behaviors such as sex and sharing of needles. HIV requirescontact of body fluids, including blood, virginal discharge, and semen, to pass from one person to another. The disease uniqueness as the paper explores attracts stigma, and fear creating a significant impact on the normal operations in schools, governments, and hospitals. There is, therefore,the need to have education and campaigns about HIV prevention and transmission, as the paper recommends to prevent an outbreak.
Keywords: HIV, Outbreak, Spreading, Community, Body Fluids, Prevention
HIV/AIDs
Description of the Disease
Name of the Disease
Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a disease that makes the human immune system by destroying T-helper (CD4) cells, responsible for fighting infections(Opeodu&Ogunrinde, 2015). The original name of the disease was Gay-Related Immune Deficiency (GRID) due to the significant number of gays who experienced rare forms of cancer and pneumonia that made their immune weak (e Silva et al., 2019). Change of name to HIV occurred in 1982, one year later, after the discovery that the condition was a result of a unique virus that was not only in gays but other people leading to the weak immune system.
The Countries Involved
Scientist believes that the origin of HIV is Congo at around when simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) crossed from an African Chimpanzee and mutated to HIV in humans. However, the discovery of HIV occurred later in the US, Los Angeles, California, and New York states. The US is, therefore, on record to have reported the HIV epidemic(e Silva et al., 2019). Another country involved in Haiti, which also reported high cases of GRID. Other involved countries at the same time were France, Spain, and Swaziland in Europe and Uganda in Africa.
Date of HIV Outbreak
Although scientist claims HIV started in around 1920, report of the outbreak was until 1981(e Silva et al., 2019). During the time, there were reports of rare diseases, including Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP), especially among gay people distributed across different countries, as mentioned above. Increased risky sex among gay is associated with the outbreak. Scientists discovered that the rare diseases were a result of one common virus, which they called HIV and announced an outbreak.
Dates HIV Reached Each Involved Country
HIV reached in Congo at around 1920 as the origin when the virus spread from a chimpanzee. However, the disease arrived in the US, France, Swaziland, Spain, and Uganda at around 1970 when there were reported cases of sporadic deaths and infections of unknown viruses(e Silva et al., 2019). The actual outbreak in the US occurred in 1981, while Haiti, the US, France, Swaziland, and Spainreported the outbreak in 1982(e Silva et al., 2019).
Epidemiological Determinants and Risk Factors
Unprotected and risky sex is one of the epidemiological determinants of HIV. HIV spreads through body fluids, which includes virginal discharge and semen. In the case of increased unprotected sex, one person likely infects large groups of people(Frew et al., 2016). Risky sex, on the other hand, exposes the parties to ulcers, which allows blood to come into contact leading to infections.Another determinant is the sharing of needles in the case of drug addicts. Most addicts also engage in unsafe sex when intoxicated, which exposes them to HIV. Sharing of needs among the addict, therefore, motivates spreading due to blood contact since they do not sterilize the tools.
Among the risk factors to the HIV outbreak is poverty. Poverty exposes people to the two main epidemiological determinants, including risk and unprotected sexual behaviors and drug abuse, with the sharing of needles. Poor people are more likely to engage in unprotected sex as they seek income while most of them live in risky residential places, which exposes them to rape(Frew et al., 2016). They also take drugs to reduce stress, which presents them to unprotected sex and sharing of needles. Another risk factor to the HIV outbreak is gender stigmatization and discrimination. Stigmatization and discrimination mostly occur in women where rape cases and other sexual harassment goes unreported or untested(Frew et al., 2016). Men do not allow women to seek medical care, which would help to identify HIV infections to take control measures. Most women, as a result, get exposed to HIV,risking its spread as they can spread to as many men as possible.
HIV Route of Transmission
A human being makes the host for HIV after its mutation from the SIV. HIV is a viral disease named after the virus that causes the illness. HIV impairs the defense system, CD4 cells meaning that the human body cannot fight it on its own(Opeodu&Ogunrinde, 2015). Once it accesses the body, the virus compromises the CD4 cells, destroying them and replicatingitself to dominate the immune cells. The virus continues to make the immune system weak until a point when it can no longer fight common infections and diseases. At that stage, which is usually the last one, the affected people get multiple illnesses and no known intervention to restore the immune system. Exit and entry of the virus are through various body fluids, which include blood, semen, and virginal discharge. Infection occurs when the contaminated fluid comes into contact with a non-contaminated fluid as bodies get onto contact with each other. The primary determinant of diseases is the exposure to body fluid, where one is contaminated.
The environment for the spread of HIV includes weak social-economic status. In a community where there is a high infection of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) with minimal reporting, there are high chances of HIV spreading (Janati et al. 2015). Such an STD rate indicates a high rate of unprotected sex, which is a risk factor to HIV. Reporting STDs cases would enable control, for example, through the provision of protective gear, creating a barrier to HIV transmission. Poverty is also a suitable environment for HIV spreading since it discourages people from seeking testing and treatment services.
Impact of HIV Outbreak on the Community
HIV outbreak would paralyze education within a community due to its psychological effect on patients, stigma, and fear of infections. People with HIV experience stress due to the thoughts about their future life alongside shame from the community(Valdiserri&Holtgrave, 2019). There is also shame related to thefact that such people, if adults, were immoral for having sex outsidemarriage. Schools would be hard to operate sincestudents would fearto be in the same class with the infected or even sharing items like books and pens even though they cannot lead to transmission. Infected staff would also not feel comfortableattending classes due to the shame in which communities associate with HIV.
The outbreak would also overwhelm the healthcare sector, making it unable to serve the community. Community members who perceive any illness,includingtypical body pains like a headache, would go for a checkup and immediate treatment due to the fear that they have HIV. There would also be another category of people, especially those with the already weak immune systems, who would experience severe symptoms after HIV infections creating the need for hospital care. The hospitals would be full, making them unable to accommodate all HIV cases with severe symptoms and other ordinary healthcare needs, such as giving birth.
Local government would not be an exception to the crises with stalled activities to concentrate more on controlling the outbreak. There would be pressure on the local government personnel for planning the various interventions and programs to control HIV,similar to the American situation during the pandemic pick (Valdiserri&Holtgrave, 2019). The local government would, as a result, need more people in the planning, leading to interfered normal operations and pressure on its resources.
The Reporting Protocol of HIV Outbreak
Community reporting protocol requires people to inform those in authority within a specific field about an incident. Reporting of occurrences that are of public interest such as infectious diseases and crime does not need the consent of the affected persons, and those in authority treat such reporting as anonymous. The public can report such cases to the local authorities related to the incidence through the provided channels such as free anonymous telephone numbers, customer care desk, or using community agents. However, professionals and people involved in such occurrences, for example, chiefs, school heads, and healthcare workers, are supposed to makeformalreporting to the higher authorities (Janati et al., 2015). Such reports from either community members or responsible people, for example, doctors need to have comprehensive information.
In the case of the HIV outbreak, reporting would start from the medical staff, including primary care workers and physicians. Unlike other incidences such as crime, it is hard for someone to assess other people’s HIV status, a situation that makes laboratories and hospital reports better (Janati et al., 2015). The healthcare staff would report such incidences to the local government department of health through formal reports every day. Daily reporting would be Important to inform everyday plans and policy development as the local government makes efforts to control the outbreak. The report, on the other hand, should include biography information of the infected persons and where possible, the likely source of the infections or the suspected cause. Such biography information would help in the distribution of antiretroviral drugs, monitoring, and tracing of the infection source for management.
Recommended Strategies to Prevent HIV Outbreak
One of the recommended strategies to prevent HIV outbreak is regular education and campaign on the need to protect oneself and others. Most people easily forget that HIV has no cure or vaccine and is likely to engage in risky behaviors such as unprotected sex (Hahn et at., 2018). The continued campaign would keep such people conscious about the risk they expose themselves when engaging in risky behaviors. People easily remember what they have leaned or head in the last few days and hence, take cautions. Campaigns in the media would maintain awareness leading to safe practices. Others are unaware of the transmission means, such as during childbirth(Hahn et at., 2018). Young mothers, especially below adult age, might be ignorant to protect themselves and their unborn children due to a lack of information about the protection and transmission approaches. Continued education would enlighten such people to adopt protective behaviors.
Another recommendation is the campaign on behavior change from those that lead to infections such as drug abuse. Regardless of the awareness about HIV and preventive measures, some behaviors might block the adoption of such actions and consciousness, leading to spreading. Social practices such as gender discrimination and violence forcefully expose people to HIV, and they cannot protect themselves since it is beyond control. Campaign to adopt secure socialpractices such as gender equality and drug-free society would prevent HIV spreading and outbreak.
References
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