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AIDS

In 1981, a new fatal, infectious disease was diagnosed--AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome). It began in major cities, such as New York, Las Angeles, Miami, and San Francisco. AIDS was soon recognized as a worldwide health emergency, and as a fatal disease with no known cure, that quickly became an epidemic. People, mostly homosexual men and intravenous drug users, were dying from very rare lung infections or from a cancer known as Kaposi’s sarcoma, which is a rare cancer that shows up in the skin, or in the lining of the mouth, nose, or eye. It can also spread to the lungs, liver, stomach and intestines, and to the lymph nodes. (www.aidscience.com) They have not seen people getting these diseases in numerous years. Soon, it also affected hemophiliacs, blood recipients, prostitutes and their customers, and babies born from AIDS-infected women.

When high-profile victims began to contract the virus, such as porn star John Holmes who died in Sepulveda, California in March of 1988, and Magic Johnson who stated, “After I found out I was infected with AIDS, my philosophy was to live every day as if it was going to be my last.” (www.nationallampoon.com); the feeling spread quickly that anyone, not just partic

The search for a successful vaccine was, and still is today, pursued in laboratories all around the world. The federal government has already committed more than two billion dollars to research. Meanwhile, the disease continues to spread to different parts of the world. In the United States alone, there are more than 65,000 new cases being reported each year. (Columbia Encyclopedia) Since its discovery, AIDS has become one of the world’s major health problems and is now considered an epidemic.

A blood test, know as the ELISA test, can detect these antibodies and therefore can indicate exposure to the virus. The ELISA test is a test that confirms the presence of antibodies for human T-cell lymph tropic type-III (AIDS virus). This test is the most frequently used test for the screening of donated blood. However, these tests can occasionally give false readings if the body does not make the antibodies yet. The blood tests only begin to give accurate results within two weeks to three months after infection, during which time an infected person may pass the virus to others. Although there is no known cure for AIDS, there are new drugs and medicines, know as protease inhibitors, which prolong the lives of some HIV-infected patients. These drugs slow down the advancement and progression of the virus for a few months, and sometimes more. However, the regimen for taking the pills is

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