Hiv And Its Effects On Society - 1724 Words

HIV Song Choi 76914396 Public Health 1 2016 Dr. Zuzana Bic Public Health Problem HIV, which stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus, belongs to a group of virus called retroviruses. HIV attacks the immune system and gradually causes greater and harmful damages. This means that without the proper care or treatment, a person who is affected by HIV is at a higher risk of developing infections and cancers than those who have a healthy immune system. HIV is an important issue in the society because according to the publications on Unlocking HIV, this infection is correlated with behaviors such as promiscuity, drug addiction, prostitution, or homosexuality. People become infected with HIV through sex,†¦show more content†¦According to The Aids Institution, scientists believe that a type of chimpanzee in West Africa was the source of HIV infections in humans. The earliest known HIV infection in humans was later detected in blood samples and it suggested that the root of the virus originated from chimpanzees. They believe that when humans h unted chimpanzees for meat and became exposed with their infected blood, a virus called simian immunodeficiency was transmitted to humans and then mutated into HIV. As time went by, the virus spread into other parts of the world and unfortunately became a nationwide epidemic. Researchers believe that HIV was introduced through the chimpanzees infected blood as people hunted the chimpanzees. The infected blood became the root of this retrovirus, which now is a life-threatening virus that affects the immune systems of humans. The community is already in great danger due to the HIV epidemic. HIV prevention efforts have helped people avoid this infection, but these efforts have not been able to stop this epidemic as a whole. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Johns Hopkins University estimated that the number of people living with HIV would increase as time goes by. Unfortunately, as more people become exposed to HIV, transmission will also increase. This will ultimately increase the need for prevention services and healthcare systems as well as the money invested into finding curable measures for