Epidemiology Paper

Epidemiology Paper

Katie Hafkenscheid

GCU

Concepts in Community and Public Health

NRS-427v

Colleen Darrow

September 7, 2014

Epidemiology Paper

It is thought that in 1982 the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) was still unknown, but increasing numbers of gay men coming infected by an infectious agent that was transmitted sexually (CDC, 2014). There were global studies and no one was aware how many people were infected in the 1970’s. By July, 1982 there were 452 cases from 23 states now reported to the CDC of this mysterious disease (CDC, 2014). In 1982, the anagram of AIDS was given to this disease because it was not inherited but acquired, it caused deficiencies in the immune system, and it was a syndrome with multiple manifestations instead of a single disease. In May 1983, doctors in France had isolated a new virus which they believed caused AIDS (CDC, 2014).

The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a virus that attacks the body by weakening the immune system. Some of the symptoms that a person may experience with HIV are: fever, diarrhea, headache, swollen lymph nodes, night sweats, mouth sores, as the virus progresses there will be increase in serious illness. This virus remains in a person’s body for life once they are infected. There have been many people who do not experience symptoms and are surprised to find out they have been infected with the HIV virus. Once a person is diagnosed with HIV, they are capable of living many years before they might experience severe health issues. Infected people need to be aware that they can transfer the virus to other people through blood, semen, breast milk, vaginal or rectal body fluids, with unprotected sex the major source of transmission. More sources of transportation of HIV are through mucous membranes, damaged tissue or the blood stream directly from a needle (CDC, 2014). Transmission of the agent (which is the virus) is believed to have begun in Africa from an animal to a human, passing the agent from one host to the other host, then the blood as the environment assisted and allowed the disease to thrive. Since viruses can affect people in different ways with symptoms, some people may become ill short after infection, while others may live a long time before finding that they were infected with the virus.

        There are multiple complications that are associated with HIV. The most common complication is due to the destruction of the T cell cd4 which then causes the weak immune system. When the disease takes over the T cell cd4, it makes the person infected at risk for infections. The more cd4 cells in the blood stream the more severe the disease.  There is a high risk of infection and mortality if the T cell cd4 drops lower than 200. Some opportunistic infections are tuberculosis, salmonellosis, cytomegalovirus (CMV), candidiasis, Toxoplasmosis. There are cancers that are opportunistic as well, such as Kaposi’s sarcoma, and Lymphoma. Lastly there could be wasting syndrome and neurological complications (Healthline, 2011).