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HIV/AIDS continues to be one of the most
challenging Public Health problems that we have encountered.
Identified less than a mere three decades ago, it's estimated
that someone somewhere in the world is infected with the virus
every 15 seconds. At the end of 2009, 33.3 million [31.4 million-35.3
million] people were estimated to be living with HIV, up slightly
from 32.8 million [30.9 million-34.7 million] in 2008. This
is in large part due to more people living longer as access
to antiretroviral therapy increases (UNAIDS, 2010) . In the
US, HIV has changed from being a disease thought to infect
only men who have sex with men (MSM) and injection drug users
(IDU) to a disease known to infect people of all races, ages,
genders, and socioeconomic status. Few people today have not
been touched by HIV/AIDS in some way.
Although millions of dollars have been spent
in the US and other countries annually, HIV prevalence continues
to increase. In 2009, there were an estimated 56,000 new cases
of HIV/AIDS in the U.S. In addition, CDC estimates that about
25% of people infected aren't yet aware that they have the
virus because they have never been tested, or have been tested
but did not return for the results (Hill et al., 2008; CDC,
2008).
Efforts to develop a vaccine against HIV
have been unsuccessful. For now, the only sure way to prevent
infection during sexual activity is abstinence. Barrier use
reduces the risk of infection, but is not considered completely
effective. The introduction of needle exchange programs have
also helped to reduce the number of new infections among IDU.
The introduction and continued use of universal precautions
in healthcare facilities helps to prevent healthcare workers
from exposure. Although these programs may been effective
to some degree in preventing the increased number of infections,
until an effective vaccine is developed eliminating risky
behaviors is the only real method to avoid infection.
The purpose of this course is to discuss
HIV prevention, routes of infection and medical management
in order to increase HIV awareness and provide information
to help protect you and the people you care for.
"The science is clear, HIV prevention can and does save
lives…it is estimated that prevention efforts have averted
more than 350,000 HIV infections in the U.S. and…saved more
than $125 billion dollars in health care costs" (CDC, 2008).
Continue on to Epidemiology
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