As we
near the end of December, the Holidays, and the New Year, let’s remember that
this is also an important month for AIDS education. As a community the more we
learn about AIDS the better we are able to prevent it. Knowledge encourages
testing and decreases discrimination against people who live with the disease.
AIDS awareness is key in reducing the spread of HIV/AIDS.
For
example, did you know the only way to tell if you have “HIV/AIDS” is to get
tested? Getting tested is really simple; just a quick finger prick and then
results in as few as as one to two days. Free HIV testing is available at
community clinics such as the Norfolk Department of Health Sexually Transmitted
Diseases (STD) Clinic. Here at Norfolk State University students can get tested
at the Spartan Health Clinic.
Did you
know that not everyone who has HIV develops AIDS? Acquired Immunodeficiency
Syndrome (AIDS) develops when your immune system is so badly damaged by HIV
that your body can no longer protect itself from opportunistic infections.
Opportunistic infections are simple viruses and bacteria that take host in your
body because of the newly weakened immune system. AIDS is the most advanced
stage of HIV infection.
Since
the only way to contract AIDS is through HIV, the only method of prevention is
to protect yourself from this virus. HIV spreads through bodily fluids
such as blood, semen, rectal fluid, vaginal fluid, and breast milk. The disease
can spread by sexual intercourse, but it can also pass from mother to child
during childbirth, pregnancy or breastfeeding. As such, the high number of
African-American women of childbearing age diagnosed with AIDS is of dire
concern for our communities.
What
can we do to prevent this disease from destroying our communities one
generation after another? Prevention happens by using condoms during all types
of intercourse (vagina, anal, and oral), using a condom during all parts of
intercourse (pre-seminal fluids can be an issue as well), asking to see test
results, limiting sexual partners, having less risky sex, not sharing needles
for injecting drugs, and of course getting tested for all STDs/STIs.
There
are individuals who are at higher risk of HIV than others and those individuals
can take special HIV medication. PrEP is an HIV prevention option for people
who don’t have HIV but who are at high-risk of becoming infected with HIV. PrEP
involves taking a specific HIV medicine every day. PrEP is not used to replace
other prevention methods.
What
are some myths about AIDS? Despite popular belief, you cannot contract HIV/AIDS
through toilet seats, touching, or kissing. With tattoos and piercings, even
though a needle is involved, the only way to contract the disease is if the
artist re-uses a needle previously used on an individual with HIV. Also, just
because an individual is homosexual doesn’t mean they have HIV/AIDS nor does it
mean they started the disease.
Where
does AIDS come from then? Scientists identified a type of chimpanzee in Central
Africa as the source of HIV infection in humans. The chimpanzee version of the
virus called simian immunodeficiency virus, or SIV was transmitted to humans
probably as early as 1800s and mutated into HIV. The virus slowly spread across
Africa and into other parts of the world.
As your
immune system protects you against sickness and keeps you functioning, having
the knowledge about HIV/AIDS allows you to better equip yourself with the necessary
tools to halt the spread of HIV/AIDS. So go learn, and Behold Biology NSU!
Sources
- AIDS.gov. Office of AIDS/HIV and Infectious Diseases. https://www.aids.gov/
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “HIV/AIDS” https://www.cdc.gov/hiv/
- Factretriever. “71 Important Facts About HIV/AIDS” http://www.factretriever.com/hivaids-facts
Author: Kharissa J Bradley
Edited
by: Aylin Marz, Ph.D.
