WITH the globe focusing on Covid-19 and the arrival of the new variant Omicron, the limelight has been taken off other life-threatening illnesses which could be catastrophic in the months and years to come. This week, as we celebrate World Aids Day (1 December), it’s important that we remember the threat of HIV/Aids remains, and we need to take some time to consider those who are living with HIV and Aids.
1. HIV came from chimp meat
Just as the Covid-19 virus is understood to have passed from bats to humans, HIV too passed from an animal, but in this case, it was a chimpanzee from central Africa. It’s believed the simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) passed into human blood when these animals were hunted for meat – possibly as far back as the 1800s. Over the decades, HIV spread across Africa and then across the globe, certainly existing in the United States from around the 1970s.
2. HIV and Aids are different – but connected
HIV is the virus that leads to Aids, but because you have HIV does not mean it will develop into Aids. People who get treatment early and stay on the treatment can have an undetectable viral load. However, without treatment, HIV can progress to Aids where the CD4 count (the white blood cell count that protects against infection) drops below 200.
3. HIV is incurable – but treatable
Unfortunately, there is still no cure for HIV or Aids, but modern medicine means that people can live healthy lives with an HIV infection. The disease can be treated with a combination of antiretroviral (ARV) drugs. This antiretroviral therapy (ART) suppresses viral replication so the immune system can strengthen to fight off infections. Research is being done into new treatments to prevent HIV, but people are still able to live full lives with ART.
4. HIV has no vaccine
Unlike Covid-19, mumps, measles, polio and so many other diseases, HIV does not have a preventative vaccine available. For more than 20 years, researchers have been working on an HIV vaccine. The primary challenge is that HIV is an extremely complicated virus that keeps changing over time.
5. HIV is still a major global health issue
We need to caution against ‘pandemic fatigue’ because while we’re cautious against Covid-19, HIV is another pandemic we need to remain aware of. Since its arrival, it’s believed more than 36 million people have died from Aids, with just under 38 million people living with HIV by the end of 2020. Two thirds of these resided on the African continent. That same year, 680 000 people died from HIV-related causes and 1.5 million people acquired HIV.
6. People can live with HIV and not know it
The American Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that of the 1.2 million citizens infected with HIV, a fifth don’t even know they have the virus. When people are first infected, they can experience flu-like symptoms such as fatigue, fever, sore throats, headaches, muscle and joint pains. However, some may never experience these symptoms and spread the virus without knowing it. Safe sex and testing are important.
7. HIV can only be transmitted through certain fluids
There is still significant stigma and myth surrounding HIV and Aids so it’s important to understand how it is transmitted. You can’t get HIV from insect bites, stings, shaking hands, hugging, sharing toilets or dishes. You also can’t get infected by a person’s sweat or tears. HIV transmission can be through the exchange of bodily fluids from infected people including blood, breast milk, semen and vaginal secretions. It can also be transmitted from mother to child during pregnancy and delivery.
Be an advocate by educating yourself and others about HIV and Aids, and support causes wherever possible. The fight to eradicate these life-threatening viruses cannot be won without collective input.
*Sources: www.womenshealth.gov, www.who.int, www.cdc.gov, www.healthgrades.com,
