Food and health case study; contemporary pandemic f.4 Flashcards
what is you case study for a contermpory pandemic and the lessons learned for pandemics management in the future?
HIV/AIDS
where does one find HIV/AIDIS
HIV is found in the body fluids of an infected person. This includes semen, vaginal and anal fluids, blood and breast milk.
what are two fetchers of the virus?
It’s a fragile virus and does not survive outside the body for long.
HIV cannot be transmitted through sweat, urine or saliva.
how does the virus transmit?
The most common way of getting HIV in the UK is through having anal or vaginal sex without a condom.
sharing needles, syringes or other injecting equipment
transmission from mother to baby during pregnancy, birth or breastfeeding
what are the symptoms of HIV?
Most people experience a short flu-like illness 2 to 6 weeks after HIV infection, which lasts for a week or 2.
After these symptoms disappear, HIV may not cause any symptoms for many years, although the virus continues to damage your immune system.
This means many people with HIV do not know they’re infected.
how do you treat HIV?
Antiretroviral medicinesand therapy are used to treat HIV. They work by stopping the virus replicating in the body, allowing the immune system to repair itself and preventing further damage.
can you draw the time line of how the management of HIV has developed?
1960 - Researchers discovered that a failed cancer drug from the 1960s stopped HIV from multiplying and helped people with AIDS live longer. called azidothymidine (AZT), the medication became available in 1987.
(AZT had drawbacks. it caused side effects like liver problems and low blood cell counts that could be deadly. AZT also at the time was the most expensive prescription drug in history, with a one-year price tag of $16,500 in today’s dollars. )
In 1995, the FDA approved saquinavir, the first in a different anti-HIV (antiretroviral) drug class called protease inhibitors. Protease inhibitors stop the virus from copying itself, but at a different stage during the infection.
1997 - the FDA approved a pill called Combivir that contained two anti-HIV drugs and was easier to take.
2021 - the PrEP extended-release injectable cabotegravir suspension gained a FDA approval. It is given first as two injections administered one month apart, and then every two months thereafter. When you take PrEP according to guidelines, it can lower your risk of catching HIV to almost zero
how is the UK government doing to intervene in the HIV pandemic?
The government is committed to achieving zero new HIV infections, AIDS and HIV-related deaths in England by 2030
This includes:
preventing people from getting HIV
ensuring those who get HIV are diagnosed promptly
preventing onward transmission from those with diagnosed infection
delivering interventions which aim to improve the health and quality of life of people with HIV and tackle stigma
can you give some facts and figures about how many people nowadays have HIV and how many are being treated?
In 2019 an estimated 94% of people living with HIV had been diagnosed, 98% of those diagnosed were on treatment, and 97% of those on treatment having an undetectable viral load – meaning they cannot pass on the infection.
what is the role of the media with the prevention and treatment of HIV?
The media have a pivotal role to play in the fight against AIDS as it is often said that education is the vaccine against HIV.
Many media organizations are rising to the challenge by promoting awareness of HIV/AIDS and educating listeners and viewers about the facts of the epidemic and how to stop it.
According to national surveys conducted in the United States, 72% of Americans identify television, radio and newspapers as their primary source of information about HIV/AIDS, more than doctors, friends and family. Similar statistics have also been reported in the United Kingdom and elsewhere in the world.
In a survey carried out in India more than 70% of respondents said they had received their information about HIV/AIDS from television.
