HIV: There Hope?

What is HIV?

HIV . HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) is an incurable virus, which can cause a life-threatening condition called AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome).. A person who has been infected with HIV is said to be HIV-positive. There are two main types of HIV: HIV-1 and HIV-2. The most aggressive form of the virus is HIV-1.. If untreated, HIV can cause so much damage that the infected person's immune system no longer works properly. When this happens, the person is said to have developed AIDS.. 

Although HIV reproduces very rapidly, it is referred to as a 'slow virus'. This is because it takes a long time - many years, in most cases - before it causes so much damage that a person gets ill. HIV differs from other viruses in that it specializes in attacking the very immune cells - white blood cells known as Helper T cells, or CD4 cells - that are designed to rid the body of infections.. By infecting and ultimately destroying Helper T cells, HIV seizes control of the body's immune system. Infected cells no longer behave as they should and instead of helping to fight the disease, they actually spread it.. There is no cure for HIV, so although drugs can help to keep the virus under control, they cannot completely get rid of the infection. 

HIV is the virus that causes AIDS. HIV stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus. HIV attacks cells in the body that fight disease and uses them to reproduce. HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) is the virus that causes AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome.) HIV is transmitted though blood, semen, vaginal fluid and breast milk. HIV attacks the part of the body that fights disease, the immune system. Specifically speaking, white blood cells. People infected with HIV may have increased difficulty fighting disease over time. 

When an HIV+ person reaches a certain level of immune deficiency they may receive an AIDS diagnosis. Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome(AIDS), a condition in humans in which the immune system begins to fail, leading to life-threatening opportunistic infections. Infection with HIV occurs by the transfer of blood, semen, vaginal fluid, pre-ejaculate, or breast milk. Within these bodily fluids, HIV is present as both free virus particles and virus within infected immune cells. The four major routes of transmission are unsafe sex, contaminated needles, breast milk, and transmission from an infected mother to her baby at birth (perinatal transmission).

HIV is transmitted via sharing of needles, blood, breast milk, joint and spinal fluids. [source] 


That said, there is a cure outside of the business of healthcare in the States. - Dawn Wolf, Keeper of Stories [Oct. 15, 2018]

Sanjay Prasad, what a searing cut into in this poem. The emotion in your poem I've seen in the eyes of homeless men dying of AIDS. People are fond of saying you cannot look at someone and see the AIDS virus. If you have eyes you can see it clearly. If someone is dying from complications from it it has a distinct distortion to it I cannot describe. How you captured it with skill is impressive, little brother. - Gregory E. Woods, Dawn Wolf  Keeper of Stories

NO ONE CRIES – A POEM ON AIDS AWARENESS

Deep slumber, laid down below the stones,

Epitaph to remember for a cause unknown,

Crossed questions from near and dear,

No man woman or child left behind,

Birthday marked the doom alone,

No one cries or will ever remember.

Silent words that were pronounced,

Candle lit in the house and sanatorium around,

care and cause had no meaning,

Sought to hatred crime and poverty,

Demanding a normal life to live,

No one cries or will ever remember.

Standing at the cross roads with no future,

Calling the name of God in the hour of distress,

Satisfaction and dreams that were never fulfilled,

Crossed the thin line of relationship for no reason,

Covered in shame the society served,

No one cries or will ever remember.

The four letter words stays distinguished,

Tired and Torn with no place to go,

Cried in mother's lap but to be disowned,

Epidemic turned into Pandemic so soon,

Give us a hand for millions have to live,

Secure our lives is all that we can pray,

No one cries or will ever remember....

All Rights Reserved

Copyright © Sanjay Prasad 2010

Indian movie star & activist - Aunty Kushboo

In 2005, there was a well-publicized politically motivated controversy that distorted her remarks in an interview for AIDS awareness out of context about the need for protective sex. Some political parties like PMK and Dalit Panthers championed the cause for moral policing and tormented Kushbhoo. Kushbhoo continuously made national headlines and initiated national debates on the need to stop moral policing. The nation watched the harassment to the actress until public opinion in the state overwhelmingly turned in favour of the veteran actress. Feeling public opinion and that they will not get any political milage by tarnishing Kusbhoo, the minor political parties, who had attacked her, backed out. The public was vehemently against such moral policing. Tamil Nadu has been one of the most forward states in India about women rights and rationalist thinking. Subsequently the actress became vindicated. http://www.squidoo.com/Kushboo