"Raise Awareness...."

AIDS/HIV – A Pandemic

            No one can reach a complete consensus on its origin, but we all believe it to come from some form of a primate. AIDS was first introduced to the Americas as early as the 1940s, but everyone believed it to be something different. Since then it has infected millions of people and affected millions of lives. AIDS or acquired immune deficiency syndrome is caused by HIV or human immunodeficiency virus. HIV has become one of the most wide spread diseases known to man. We recently celebrated the 30^th anniversary since the first reported case and since then it has caused detrimental effects to the population and to communities around the world. The disease really began to hit the home front when it was contracted by those people who were in the limelight and those basic people who lived normal lives. Although the disease can be contracted numerous ways, it was first reported amongst the Gay Community when it reached America, and since then has spread to almost every part of the hierarchal structure.

HIV/AIDS is said to be the cross species form of SIV or Simian Immunodeficiency Virus, which was first transferred to humans by primates throwing feces and by hunters eating contaminated animal meat. Two forms of HIV were attained from these primates, HIV-1 and HIV-2. HIV-1 is more closely related to the SIV strand, the only difference between the two is that SIV is curable, while HIV is not. Both diseases attack the immune system of their host and damage the T-cells in the body to make them unable to do their work. In recent years we have found a way to suppress the disease and increase the life of its victims. Scientists have discovered that after ten years over half of those who contracted HIV developed AIDS, but with recent medication those who have the disease can live full lives without ever getting AIDS.

The first official announcement of HIV/AIDS was on June 5, 1981; it was then called Pneumocystis Pneumonia the CDC, and was highly found amongst the Gay Community. Almost a month after the CDC’s announcement, the New York Times reported that a total of 41 homosexual men had been diagnosed with Kaposi’s Sarcoma, which was one of the ailments most men were facing who had contracted the disease. By the end of 1981 5-6 new cases were being reported each week. In June of 1982, more than 355 cases with the symptoms of Kaposi’s Sarcoma had been reported to the CDC. The disease had spread to over twenty states and was now affecting heterosexual men and women. Those who did not have the disease contracted it intravenously from those who had already had it. In July at a meeting in Washington they suggested the disease be given the acronym AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome).

The acronym given was used in September of 1982 when they told that two cases were being discovered daily. Later that year the CDC began to receive information about outbreaks in the Caribbean Island of Haiti. This information cause AIDS to become a part of “The Four-H Club”; the four H’s being homosexuals, heroin addicts, hemophiliacs and Haitians. This caused Haitians to complain about stigmatization, and caused a dramatic drop in Haitian tourism. Others groups became stigmatized when they became the targets for the CDC; they took offense to this because what caused AIDS and how it was being passed on was still not known. By 1983 the number of AIDS diagnoses reported in America had risen to 3,064 and of these people 1,292 had died. The government gave funds to research to develop a test so they can find HIV in blood. In 1985, President Reagan, rather than advocating safe sex, told that they were not allowing HIV positive immigrants into the country. By this time AIDS was already widespread in Africa and in some parts of China. In 1985 HIV deaths were beginning to affect Hollywood, having taken the lives of Ricky Wilson and Rock Hudson. Within the next year over 35,000 cases had been reported from 85 countries. The American Government conducted an AIDS education campaign in 1988, and by the end of the decade over 8 million people worldwide had been diagnosed with this disease.

The view on HIV/AIDS changed when teenager Ryan White Died in 1990. He had contracted the disease from a blood transfusion several years earlier. In his remembrance the American government founded the Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency (CARE) Act. Its sole purpose was to provide help to those low income families that were being affected by HIV. 1991 marked the year that superstar basketball player Earvin ‘Magic’ Johnson, Jr. announced that he too had contracted the disease; this caused him to retire from the NBA in his prime. The 90s had many breakthroughs for the HIV/AIDS campaign, from the introduction to the medications AZT and ddI to the development of other medicines to help those struggling with the disease. At the end of 1995 HIV/AIDS became the leading cause of death among all Americans between the ages of 25 and 44. The FDA approved a drug called saquinavir, the first of a new class of drug called protease inhibitors. These drugs were used with two other to attack HIV/AIDS antibodies replication process sometimes up to 99 percent. By 1997 it was reported that for the first time since the beginning of the epidemic, the death rate of the disease had decrease. This left more people actually living with the disease, which lead Dr. John Ward, an AIDS expert at the CDC to state, "The decline in deaths leaves more people living with AIDS and HIV infection. We do not want to be a wet blanket here, but we still need programs that assure good access to treatment and care for infected people." This let the world know that practicing safe sex was a must; with a high number of infected people still living, everyone had to be sure that their partner was healthy. Those with disease began to live longer and more active lives as if nothing even affected them.

            HIV/AIDS in the new millennium meant less deaths, but still more cases. Those who had not fallen to the disease in the 90s health started to deteriorate. The CDC began to put emphasis on prevention techniques because they thought that it would halve the number of cases to 20,000; they wanted to have this achieved by 2005. By 2003 the CDC knew that their goal would be missed, so in 2006 they implemented another plan. This plan included routine HIV check to all of those who attended healthcare services. The President’s 2007 budget also increased focus on testing by requesting $93 million to purchase and distribute rapid HIV test kits for communities with the highest rates of newly discovered HIV cases. Between 2000 and 2003 over half of the reported cases were from African Americans. African Americans had been majorly affected since this disease was known to exist. The CDC tried to educate the African American with hope that this would decrease the number of transmissions amongst the race.  The San Francisco AIDS Walk in 2007 raised over $4.5 million, this was the largest single day fundraiser ever held. Those who put out prevention strategies still proclaimed that we still did not invest enough in prevention. In January the travel ban that had been put in place in 1987 was lifted, allowing those infected with HIV to enter America.

            HIV/AIDS has split whole countries, communities, and races, but it has also brought many of those who lost someone to the disease together. Although it proves to be resistant, we have made many attempts to slow it down. One of the longest running pandemics ever, the HIV/AIDS pandemic has been around for 30 years and international governments hope to have no new cases reported by 2015. This can only be attained if we all take initiative, so go out in your community and raise awareness....not only for those who aren't here to fight, but also for those who are to weak to fight.