HIV AIDS natural history, complications, and prognosis
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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]
Overview
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS or Aids) is a collection of symptoms and infections resulting from the specific damage to the immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in humans,[1] and similar viruses in other species (SIV, FIV, etc.)
Prevention
The diverse transmission routes of HIV are well-known and established. Also well-known is how to prevent transmission of HIV. However, recent epidemiological and behavioral studies in Europe and North America have suggested that a substantial minority of young people continue to engage in high-risk practices and that despite HIV/AIDS knowledge, young people underestimate their own risk of becoming infected with HIV (Dias et al., 2005). However, transmission of HIV between intravenous drug users has clearly decreased and HIV transmission by blood transfusion has become almost obsolete in this population.
Prognosis
Without treatment, the net median survival time after infection with HIV is estimated to be 9 to 11 years, depending on the HIV subtype,[2] and the median survival rate after diagnosis of AIDS in resource-limited settings where treatment is not available ranges between 6 and 19 months, depending on the study.[3] In areas where it is widely available, the development of HAART as effective therapy for HIV infection and AIDS reduced the death rate from this disease by 80%, and raised the life expectancy for a newly-diagnosed HIV-infected person to about 20 years.[4]
Economic impact
HIV and AIDS retard economic growth by destroying human capital.[5] Without proper nutrition, health care and medicine that is available in developed countries, large numbers of people are falling victim to AIDS. They will not only be unable to work, but will also require significant medical care. The forecast is that this will likely cause a collapse of economies and societies in the region. In some heavily infected areas, the epidemic has left behind many orphans cared for by elderly grandparents.[6]
The increased mortality in this region will result in a smaller skilled population and labor force.[6] This smaller labor force will be predominantly young people, with reduced knowledge and work experience leading to reduced productivity. An increase in workers’ time off to look after sick family members or for sick leave will also lower productivity. Increased mortality will also weaken the mechanisms that generate human capital and investment in people, through loss of income and the death of parents.[6] By killing off mainly young adults, AIDS seriously weakens the taxable population, reducing the resources available for public expenditures such as education and health services not related to AIDS resulting in increasing pressure for the state's finances and slower growth of the economy. This results in a slower growth of the tax base, an effect that will be reinforced if there are growing expenditures on treating the sick, training (to replace sick workers), sick pay and caring for AIDS orphans. This is especially true if the sharp increase in adult mortality shifts the responsibility and blame from the family to the government in caring for these orphans.[6]
On the level of the household, AIDS results in both the loss of income and increased spending on healthcare by the household. The income effects of this lead to spending reduction as well as a substitution effect away from education and towards healthcare and funeral spending. A study in Côte d'Ivoire showed that households with an HIV/AIDS patient spent twice as much on medical expenses as other households.[7]
UNAIDS, WHO and the United Nations Development Programme have documented a correlation between the decreasing life expectancies and the lowering of gross national product in many African countries with prevalence rates of 10% or more. Indeed, since 1992 predictions that AIDS would slow economic growth in these countries have been published. The degree of impact depended on assumptions about the extent to which illness would be funded by savings and who would be infected.[7] Conclusions reached from models of the growth trajectories of 30 sub-Saharan economies over the period 1990–2025 were that the economic growth rates of these countries would be between 0.56 and 1.47% lower. The impact on gross domestic product (GDP) per capita was less conclusive. However, in 2000, the rate of growth of Africa's per capita GDP was in fact reduced by 0.7% per year from 1990–1997 with a further 0.3% per year lower in countries also affected by malaria.[8] The forecast now is that the growth of GDP for these countries will undergo a further reduction of between 0.5 and 2.6% per annum.[6] However, these estimates may be an underestimate, as they do not look at the effects on output per capita.[5]
Many governments in sub-Saharan Africa denied that there was a problem for years, and are only now starting to work towards solutions. Underfunding is a problem in all areas of HIV prevention when compared to even conservative estimates of the problems.
Recent research by the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) has suggested that the private sector has begun to recognize the impact of HIV/AIDS on the bottom line, both directly and indirectly. It is estimated that a company can generate an average return of US$3 for every US$1 invested in employee health due to a reduced absenteeism, better productivity and reduction in employee turnover.[9] Indirectly there are also important implications on the supply chain. Many multi-national corporations (MNCs) have therefore gotten involved in HIV/AIDS initiatives of three main types: a community-based partnerships, supply chain support, and sector-based initiatives.[10]
The launching of the world's first official HIV/AIDS Toolkit in Zimbabwe on October 3 2006 is a product of collaborative work between the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, World Health Organization and the Southern Africa HIV/AIDS Information Dissemination Service. It is for the strengthening of people living with HIV/AIDS and nurses by minimal external support. The package, which is in form of eight modules focusing on basic facts about HIV and AIDS, was pre-tested in Zimbabwe in March 2006 to determine its adaptability. It disposes, among other things, categorized guidelines on clinical management, education and counseling of AIDS victims at community level.[11]
The Copenhagen Consensus is a project that seeks to establish priorities for advancing global welfare using methodologies based on the theory of welfare economics. The participants are all economists, with the focus of the project being a rational prioritization based on economic analysis. The project is based on the contention that, in spite of the billions of dollars spent on global challenges by the United Nations, the governments of wealthy nations, foundations, charities, and non-governmental organizations, the money spent on problems such as malnutrition and climate change is not sufficient to meet many internationally-agreed targets. The highest priority was assigned to implementing new measures to prevent the spread of HIV and AIDS. The economists estimated that an investment of $27 billion could avert nearly 30 million new infections by 2010.[12]
Stigma
AIDS stigma exists around the world in a variety of ways, including ostracism, rejection, discrimination and avoidance of HIV infected people; compulsory HIV testing without prior consent or protection of confidentiality; violence against HIV infected individuals or people who are perceived to be infected with HIV; and the quarantine of HIV infected individuals.[13] Stigma-related violence or the fear of violence prevents many people from seeking HIV testing, returning for their results, or securing treatment, possibly turning what could be a manageable chronic illness into a death sentence and perpetuating the spread of HIV.[14]
AIDS stigma has been further divided into the following three categories:
- Instrumental AIDS stigma—a reflection of the fear and apprehension that are likely to be associated with any deadly and transmissible illness.[15]
- Symbolic AIDS stigma—the use of HIV/AIDS to express attitudes toward the social groups or lifestyles perceived to be associated with the disease.[15]
- Courtesy AIDS stigma—stigmatization of people connected to the issue of HIV/AIDS or HIV- positive people.[16]
Often, AIDS stigma is expressed in conjunction with one or more other stigmas, particularly those associated with homosexuality, bisexuality, promiscuity, and intravenous drug use.
In many developed countries, there is an association between AIDS and homosexuality or bisexuality, and this association is correlated with higher levels of sexual prejudice such as anti-homosexual attitudes.[17] There is also a perceived association between AIDS and all male-male sexual behavior, including sex between uninfected men.[15]
References
- ↑ "The Relationship Between the Human Immunodeficiency Virus and the Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome". NIAID. Retrieved 2008-03-10.
- ↑
- ↑ Template:Cite paper
- ↑ Knoll B, Lassmann B, Temesgen Z (2007). "Current status of HIV infection: a review for non-HIV-treating physicians". Int J Dermatol. 46 (12): 1219–28. doi:10.1111/j.1365-4632.2007.03520.x. PMID 18173512.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Template:Cite paper
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 Greener R (2002). "AIDS and macroeconomic impact". In S, Forsyth (ed.). State of The Art: AIDS and Economics. IAEN. pp. 49&ndash, 55.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Over M (1992). "The macroeconomic impact of AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa, Population and Human Resources Department". The World Bank.
- ↑ Bonnel R (2000). "HIV/AIDS and Economic Growth: A Global Perspective". S. A. J. Economics. 68 (5): 820&ndash, 855.
- ↑ Goetzel RZ, Ozminkowski RJ, Baase CM, Billotti GM (2005). "Estimating the return-on-investment from changes in employee health risks on the Dow Chemical Company's health care costs". Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. 47: 759–68. PMID 16093925.
- ↑ "AIDS and the private sector: The case of South Africa" (PDF). Overseas Development Institute. 2007. Unknown parameter
|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ↑ Mu Xuequan (2006). "Zimbabwe launches world's first AIDS training package". xinhua. Retrieved 2006-10-03.
- ↑ "$27 Billion Boost for HIV Prevention Programs Could Avert Majority of Projected HIV Infections Worldwide". kaisernetwork.org. 2002. Retrieved 2008-03-10.
- ↑ "The impact of AIDS on people and societies" (PDF). 2006 Report on the global AIDS epidemic (PDF)
|format=requires|url=(help). UNAIDS. 2006. Retrieved 2006-06-14. - ↑ Ogden J, Nyblade L (2005). "Common at its core: HIV-related stigma across contexts" (PDF). International Center for Research on Women. Retrieved 2007-02-15.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 Herek GM, Capitanio JP (1999). "AIDS Stigma and sexual prejudice" (PDF). American Behavioral Scientist. 42 (7): 1130–1147. doi:10.1177/0002764299042007006. Retrieved 2006-03-27.
- ↑ Snyder M, Omoto AM, Crain AL (1999). "Punished for their good deeds: stigmatization for AIDS volunteers". American Behavioral Scientist. 42 (7): 1175&ndash, 1192. doi:10.1177/0002764299042007009.
- ↑ Herek GM, Capitanio JP, Widaman KF (2002). "HIV-related stigma and knowledge in the United States: prevalence and trends, 1991-1999" (PDF). Am J Public Health. 92 (3): 371–7. PMID 11867313. Retrieved 2008-03-10.