HIV/AIDS in Africa

Every year about 5 million people are infected with HIV/AIDS and more then 3 million die. HIV/AIDS is an infectious disease spread through contact with bodily fluids such as blood, semen and breast milk. HIV, or the Human Immunodeficiency Virus is a retrovirus, meaning that when it duplicates in a host cell, it reproduces DNA from its RNA genome. This DNA is integrated in the host cell, allowing it to continue to replicate for years. HIV attacks the immune system, which is the body’s protection against disease. Eventually, HIV leads to AIDS, which is Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. This leaves the individual extremely vulnerable to opportunistic infections leading to pulmonary, gastrointestinal, psychiatric and neurological problems as well as the possibility of the growth of cancerous tumors. Unprotected sex and sharing of contaminated needles are two common ways that HIV/AIDS is spread, however the huge disparity existing in the number of HIV cases in developing nations vs. developed nations comes also due to the fact that poor nations are predisposed to it. Depletion of macro- and micronutrients, specifically vitamin A, due to malnutrition supports viral replication that increases the risk of HIV transmission. Being infected with other diseases such as malaria and parasitic diseases that are related to unclean water leads to an increased rate of HIV transmission, as well. Infectious diseases like AIDS and malnutrition work in a cycle: the diseases lower the body’s ability to take in essential nutrients and nutritional deficiencies make the body more susceptible to infection! AIDS is now second only to the Black Death as the largest epidemic in history! 1 person dies every 17 seconds!