So, what is this AIDS?
Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, that is – AIDS. Thirty years ago this acronym - AIDS -did not even exist. Today, there is hardly anyone, anywhere in the world, who is not familiar with the term. It was in 1981, on July 5, that, the New York Times reported an outbreak of a rare form of cancer among homosexual men in New York and California. The doctors did not have a name for this new disease. As a matter of convenience it was referred to as ‘gay cancer’.
The press began to refer to the disease as GRID – Gay-related Immune Deficiency. About the same time, emergency rooms in New York City began to see a rash of seemingly healthy young men presenting with fevers, flu-like symptoms, and a rare pneumonia called Pneumocystis. They were mostly heterosexuals; some were drug addicts, while others had received blood transfusions, proving that the syndrome was not restricted to homosexual men. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, USA), in search of a name, coined “the 4H disease,” as it seemed to single out Haitians, homosexuals, hemophiliacs, and heroin users. Finally, in July ’82, the scientific community agreed upon the terminology that defined this new disease – AIDS.
This new disease had begun with five homosexual men in Los Angeles, California, in mid 1981. By the end of 1983 thirty-three countries around the world had confirmed cases of AIDS. From 1981 to 2007, over twenty five million people have died of AIDS related diseases. 75% of these deaths have occurred on the continent of Africa. Currently there are 33 million people living with HIV across the world.
In the early days, after the disease made its dramatic appearance, the doctors were at a loss about treating the patients. All that they knew was that the patients were not responding to the medications for whatever disease that they were suffering from – whether it was causing pneumonia, tuberculosis or whatever.
They also learnt that, the infection appeared to be transmitted through blood. This was because many of the early victims were haemophiliacs. And, many other unfortunate individuals who had received blood transfusions. And – drug addicts, who injected themselves with intravenous drugs.
By 1983, first the Pasteur Institute in France, and Dr. Robert Gallo in USA isolate a virus which is identified as the cause of breakdown of the body’s immune system, which is the basis of this disease. Initially labeled HTLV-III, an international committee of scientists, finally named it HIV: the Human Immunodeficiency Virus.
For the first six years, the medical community watched helplessly, as their patients died of this strange disease. In 1987 the drug Retrovir (also referred to as AZT), is approved by the Food and Drug Administration of USA. This was by no means a cure, but it could retard the progression of the disease. This meant that the patient’s immunity does not deteriorate further, leaving him open to more infections. But there was a problem in two or three years the virus adapted itself to the medication, rendering it ineffective.
In 1991, a new drug, Hivid, is introduced, which was to be used in combination with AZT. This increased the period of effectiveness of the medication by a few more years. But the problem continued. The virus mutated and became resistant to this dual combination. In 1996, there is a new addition to these drugs – the Protease Inhibitors. The three drugs administered together is referred to as Combination Therapy, and has increased the lifespan of those infected with the virus.
Yet, the hard reality is that even now there is no cure for HIV/AIDS. Therefore, the old axiom holds true in this case, too: ‘Prevention is the best cure’. Is it possible to ensure prevention? Not quite. It is possible to contract the disease through an infected hypodermic needle or through transfusion of infected blood. But, the chances of that happening are rather small.
The primary mode of transmission of the virus is through sexual intercourse with an infected person. That leaves only one of two options: abstinence or safe sex. Where the truth of the matter is concerned, infection is possible even within a marriage, where one spouse is infected. Millions of women in India and elsewhere have contracted infections from their husbands.
Safe sex boils down to just one word: condoms. Use of condom during the sex act reduces the possibility of contracting or transmitting infection by 99%. As it stands, this is the only pragmatic defense against the disease. There is no potential cure in sight. Work is in progress over a potential vaccine.
If at all, one should get infected, the sooner one knows about it, the better. The only way to ensure that is to get oneself tested. When in doubt, do the test. If the infection is at an early stage, steps can be taken to arrest further deterioration of the immune system. Under proper medical guidance it is possible to continue to lead a productive life for the next 20 or 30 years.
By now the reader should have realized that the problem is not the HIV infection in itself. The problem is caused by the fact that the virus reduces the body’s immunity. This makes the body susceptible to other illnesses, irresponsive to treatment.
That stage, where the patient is subject to a secondary infection, which is virtually untreatable – that is the AIDS stage, caused by the HIV infection. There is no disease, infection, called AIDS.
Read all about that in the next issue of POSITIV+.
This new disease had begun with five homosexual men in Los Angeles, California, in mid 1981. By the end of 1983 thirty-three countries around the world had confirmed cases of AIDS. From 1981 to 2007, over twenty five million people have died of AIDS related diseases. 75% of these deaths have occurred on the continent of Africa. Currently there are 33 million people living with HIV across the world.
In the early days, after the disease made its dramatic appearance, the doctors were at a loss about treating the patients. All that they knew was that the patients were not responding to the medications for whatever disease that they were suffering from – whether it was causing pneumonia, tuberculosis or whatever.
They also learnt that, the infection appeared to be transmitted through blood. This was because many of the early victims were haemophiliacs. And, many other unfortunate individuals who had received blood transfusions. And – drug addicts, who injected themselves with intravenous drugs.
By 1983, first the Pasteur Institute in France, and Dr. Robert Gallo in USA isolate a virus which is identified as the cause of breakdown of the body’s immune system, which is the basis of this disease. Initially labeled HTLV-III, an international committee of scientists, finally named it HIV: the Human Immunodeficiency Virus.
For the first six years, the medical community watched helplessly, as their patients died of this strange disease. In 1987 the drug Retrovir (also referred to as AZT), is approved by the Food and Drug Administration of USA. This was by no means a cure, but it could retard the progression of the disease. This meant that the patient’s immunity does not deteriorate further, leaving him open to more infections. But there was a problem in two or three years the virus adapted itself to the medication, rendering it ineffective.
In 1991, a new drug, Hivid, is introduced, which was to be used in combination with AZT. This increased the period of effectiveness of the medication by a few more years. But the problem continued. The virus mutated and became resistant to this dual combination. In 1996, there is a new addition to these drugs – the Protease Inhibitors. The three drugs administered together is referred to as Combination Therapy, and has increased the lifespan of those infected with the virus.
Yet, the hard reality is that even now there is no cure for HIV/AIDS. Therefore, the old axiom holds true in this case, too: ‘Prevention is the best cure’. Is it possible to ensure prevention? Not quite. It is possible to contract the disease through an infected hypodermic needle or through transfusion of infected blood. But, the chances of that happening are rather small.
The primary mode of transmission of the virus is through sexual intercourse with an infected person. That leaves only one of two options: abstinence or safe sex. Where the truth of the matter is concerned, infection is possible even within a marriage, where one spouse is infected. Millions of women in India and elsewhere have contracted infections from their husbands.
Safe sex boils down to just one word: condoms. Use of condom during the sex act reduces the possibility of contracting or transmitting infection by 99%. As it stands, this is the only pragmatic defense against the disease. There is no potential cure in sight. Work is in progress over a potential vaccine.
If at all, one should get infected, the sooner one knows about it, the better. The only way to ensure that is to get oneself tested. When in doubt, do the test. If the infection is at an early stage, steps can be taken to arrest further deterioration of the immune system. Under proper medical guidance it is possible to continue to lead a productive life for the next 20 or 30 years.
By now the reader should have realized that the problem is not the HIV infection in itself. The problem is caused by the fact that the virus reduces the body’s immunity. This makes the body susceptible to other illnesses, irresponsive to treatment.
That stage, where the patient is subject to a secondary infection, which is virtually untreatable – that is the AIDS stage, caused by the HIV infection. There is no disease, infection, called AIDS.
Read all about that in the next issue of POSITIV+.
