Blog 8 HIV/AIDS

This week I feel a little bit energized, since I had a week off from turning anything in. I am really enjoying this class, because every assignment is very informative and helps me understand this disease. I never thought this course could be so intensive. I am glad I took it though!

I rented the movie "Philadelphia". No I have not watched it, because my son misplaced it! Ugh. I plan to watch it soon. I am excited that this week the assignment due is a bit different. We actually have a quiz. I have been reading the modules and like always they are extremely informative. I love it. I love the way the details help me understand HIV/AIDS.

So this week, I am learning about all the misconceptions attached to HIV. While reading the slides, I came across to a big issue that people still think this is a form of punishement.

"Many people believe that this virus is God's punishment for a particular lifestyle" (Douglass,slide 3).

I thought this is such a lie!!! This is a way to make people believe that they are not a child of God. This makes me remember the statment Bono made. He said that God did not judge and for us no to judge those who are his children. This is a powerful statement. For those who believe in a higher power I urge you to remember that everyone of us is part of creation. We should not discriminate!

DYK: In the news, Russian has been talking about having a new strategy against HIV/AIDS. There is one statement that struck me the most and it was how Russian wants to start treating addicts. "AIDS specialists meeting here say Russia should use methadone treatment and other so-called harm reduction strategies, saying HIV may be moving from addicts, sex workers and gay men into the general population" (Associated Press, 2009). This basically ensures that drug transmission is reduced. When I say drug transmission I basically think that a large portion of the sex workers are drug users. This ensures that these sex workers are treated for their addiction and helps them start to get on their feet and reduce prostitution.

"UNAIDS executive director Michel Sidibe said methadone has proven effective elsewhere and that, despite progress, Russia was in the midst of a surge in heterosexual transmission that could break out into the larger population" (Associated Press, 2009).

I think Russian has jumped on the bandwagon a bit late. I think that this is a very good idea, because it controls a way of transmission.

Blog # 7 HIV a Human Concern

This week I wanted to begin by just informing you all how much I have learned from this class. I always thought that having HIV/AIDS was extremely horrible and that one would die immediately. After taking this class, I must admitt I have become a different women. I am much more educated. I think that sometimes when someone is against a certain topic it means that that someone lacks the proper education in that topic. And I am getting there!!!!! I have getting properly educated.

I can't believe that this is a week without papers due. I am looking into starting the M&M Journal. This is going to be hard, because I'm on a diet (Giggles).

I was looking into "How NOT disclosing your HIV status could be a CRIMINAL ACT"

Should a person go to jail for not giving out their status? Shouldn't it be (your) job to have your potential partner tested? I think there is a fine line here. I think that a person should always know the potential risk of contracting HIV through their partner.

"Obviously, intentionally choosing not to disclose HIV infection to sexual partners puts the partner in harms way" (About AIDS, 2009). Many supports are refering to not disclosing status as if someone was placing a gun to your head.

"Without disclosure, more and more people will be infected with HIV, meaning the public health has been jeopardized by the failure to disclose" (About AIDS, 2009).


"Those opposing criminalizing HIV transmission offer several reasons for why they feel it is a bad idea. In their opinion, laws that criminalize HIV" (About AIDS, 2009).:
•do nothing to reduce the rate of HIV infection
•undermine prevention efforts by deterring people from being tested
•add to the fear and stigma that follow HIV positive people
•punish even under circumstances that are not blameworthy
•are often applied unfairly and inconsistently

What do you think should it be criminalized?

I wanted to write some Transmission Statistics

DYK: That the rate for infection in the US is at a steady rate. Isn't this horrible.

•Male-to-male sexual contact (MSM) - 22,472
•Injection drug use (IVDU) - 4,939
•MSM / IVDU - 1,260
•Heterosexual contact - 13,627
•Other risks / risk not identified - 35,180

Shouldn't transmission go down??? and not up??? What do you think??

Blog # 6 The Journey Continues...

I wanted to start of this weeks blog with some interesting facts. I think sometimes when we are aware of the different facts and real life statistics then it might give us a wake up call.
I found these facts and were published as of 2004, I am sure there are many updated ones out there, but I found these interesting.

DYK:

AIDS was the leading cause of death among black women aged 25 to 34 years old; the third leading cause of death among black women 35 to 44 years old; the fourth leading cause of death among black women 45 to 54 years old.

I was alarmed by the stats for Hispanic women Check it out!

AIDS is the fourth leading cause of death among Hispanic women 35 to 44 years old.

A little more recent information as of 2005:

Approximately 9700 women were diagnosed with HIV
80 percent were from heterosexual transmission

This is more people than what were in my hometown growing up! These numbers are breathtaking.

•Of the 422,000 people living with AIDS in the US, 23 percent were women.
Center for Disease Control; "HIV/AIDS Among Women"; 1 Jun 2007.


As the days go by, it seems that I never really knew anything about HIV/AIDs. I find it sad. I am so glad I signed up for this class. I believe it has taught me so many aspects of this disease I never knew.

This week I wanted to concentrate on Canada

I went ahead and searched to find some statistics about this Country

In 2007: There were 190 male adults diagnosed with AIDS and 45 women diagnosed. A total of 235 of all ages
From the year 1997-2007, There has been a total of 20,746 AIDS diagnoses of all ages.

In 2007: There were 1,782 males diagnosed with HIV and about 592 females. This brings a total of ages of 2,375 with HIV. From the years 1997-2007, There has been a total of 59,372 people diagnosed with HIV!

http://www.avert.org/canada-aids.htm

Blog # 5: A Strong Sense of Connection

Hi everyone! Everyday that passes by, I feel a stronger passion for HIV/AIDS. It is so easy to go through life not caring of a disease that "you might think you won't get". But that is not the case. As all of you must know already HIV/AIDS can affect anyone. As the days go by in class, the assignments seem to touch me in a deeper way. I can start making an emotional connection with the individuals who suffer from the virus. I just saw the movie Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt. Let me tell you this was an inspiring documentary. I can see why it is an Oscar winning movie. It makes the viewer (ME) realize that HIV/AIDS has a face. A brother, son, father, mother, sister, daughter, and many others. It makes you take notice that these were people who were that somebody to someone. I won't give details. If your intrigued watch it NOW!

This week after watch the movie I decided to research a bit about Hemophilia in children. During the outbreak of HIV/AIDS almost all hemophiliacs contracted the virus.This is scary! What do I mean by scary? hmmm the fact that these children are born with a need, but can have the chance to get more than they ever needed.

Hemophilia
What is Hemophilia?

The human blood in all of us has proteins that are known as the clotting factors. These clotting factors help stop bleeding and allow the blood vessel to heal."The last step in the clotting process (also called coagulation) is the creation of a "net" that closes the torn blood vessel and stops the bleeding" (Griffin, 2007). This part of the process involves clotting factors VIII and IX (Griffin, 2007). People with this disease lack on of the clotting factors, which makes their blood not able to clot properly.

"Hemophilia A, also known as factor VIII deficiency, is the cause of about 80% of cases. Hemophilia B, which makes up the majority of the remaining 20% of cases, is a deficiency of factor IX"(Griffin, 2007).

Patients can have a mild, moderate, or severe case of Hemophilia. This all depends on the amount of factor in the blood.

"A patient whose blood tests suggest severe hemophilia will usually bleed frequently, whereas another patient with a milder form will usually bleed only rarely. However, there is a range of severity within each group. The reasons for this variability may relate to other clotting factors or to differences in behaviors that present different risks of injury" (Griffin, 2007).

Can you imagine being a little kid and not being able to enjoy you life like the other little kids in the playground?

"Currently, about 17,000 people in the United States have hemophilia. About 1 in every 5,000 boys is born with hemophilia; girls are more rarely affected by this genetic condition linked to gender" (Griffin, 2007).

Signs and Symptoms of Hemophilia

The signs and symptoms vary depending on the severity of the factor missing."Once babies with hemophilia begin crawling and cruising, parents may notice raised bruises on the stomach, chest, buttocks, and back" (Griffin, 2007). The brusies tend to appear in unlikely places , and parents might be suspected of abuse.

Diagnosing Hemophilia

Doctors using do a set of blood test on the child. The test include a complete blood count (CBC), prothrombin time (PT), activated partial thromboplastin time (PTT), factor VIII level, and factor IX level.

Treating Hemophila

Hemophilia is a lifelong condition with no cure (other than liver transplantation), it can be successfully managed with clotting factor replacement therapy (Griffin, 2007).The patient has to have periodic infusions of the deficient clotting factor in their blood. "Factor replacement may be given through an intravenous (IV) line either at the hematology clinic or at home by a visiting nurse or by parents (and even older patients) who have undergone special training" (Griffin, 2007). The doctors will also teach the parent how to correctly inject your child

Griffin,S.(2007). Hemophila. Retreived October 6, 2009,from,http://kidshealth.org/parent/medical/genetic/hemophilia.html

I just wanted to write about this disease to outline a disease that can mean a way of contracting a killer.In the late 1970's until the mid-1980's, the clotting factor concentrates also contained H.I.V.
each dose of which is extracted from the blood of as many as 2,000 donors.

DYK: I found a very interesting organization that advocates people to adopt children with HIV/AIDS. The founding family adopted two children who were thought to have HIV due to their mother having AIDS the the possibility of antibodies passing. Well, their children were positive and now they help other families see that HIV/AIDS orphans deserve a chance. These are all innocent children who didn't have a choice in getting the virus just like hemphiliacs it is a disease that decided for them.
They have recruited over 1000 families from all the 50 states and even 13 countries. WOW! It is amazing to know that many people care for children no matter there HIV status.
http://www.aidskids.org/