Reducing HIV AIDS vulnerability among adolescents

By anirudha alam [ 11/04/2007 ]

Reducing HIV/AIDS vulnerability among adolescents

Anirudha Alam

To reduce HIV/AIDS vulnerability among adolescents, there is a need to develop strategies and methods for effective curriculum focusing on sex education and life skills especially. Internalizing more participatory learning-teaching method, it is felt that a stronger integration of prevention education vis-à-vis sex & reproductive health approaches is essential for improving the high-quality HIV prevention & care. It is estimated that there are 1.2 billion adolescents in the world. Near about eighty seven percent of these adolescents live in the developing countries. More than eighty five percent adolescents of Bangladesh do not know what reproductive health is and how to practice safe sex. Most of them are not aware of how to undermine the vulnerability to HIV/AIDS. To make them free from such encumbrance as HIV/AIDS, we have to ensure a healthy and promising environment. It is believed that if the adolescents have qualitative reproductive health literacy ultimately HIV/AIDS prevention programs initiated by GOs and NGos will be successful.

Only effective education can ensure qualitative reproductive health literacy. This kind of literacy helps adolescents analyze thoroughly basic information, core messages, values and praxis related to HIV/AIDS prevention. Simultaneously they are able to inculcate caring and supportive attitudes towards people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). They possess the basic facts and information bringing about acquisition of knowledge and development of attitudes, values, skills and practices (KAVSP) as to undermining the spread of HIV/AIDS. Consequently they have profound awareness on practicing safe sex, use of condoms, gender equity, harmful effect of early marriage, premarital sex and unplanned pregnancy.

Reducing HIV/AIDS vulnerability among adolescents may be promoted auspiciously through evaluating the attitudes and values within community based social norms/beliefs, cooperation and teamwork. From the salad days, adolescents have to be guided by active and participatory learning that they may analyze, study ideas, solve problems and apply what they learn. It is important to ensure that active learning would be fast-paced, enjoyable and personally engaging. In this regard, cooperative learning may play a vital role to make the adolescents aware of HIV/AIDS significantly. It is one kind of effective group approaches with a view to learning with common objectives, mutual rewards, shared resources and complementary roles. Through this approach, group members are stimulated to help each other to master the lesson or activity. Thus an atmosphere of mutual trust and respect are established. Eventually the learning environment is warm as well as adolescents are made to express their views, opinions, attitudes and behaviors freely.

Adolescence is the prime and sensitive period of so many physical, emotional and cognitive developments. So adolescents have to experience many changes unexpectedly. In most cases, they remain unaware of how to efficiently cope with these kinds of physical and psychological changes. Attitudes to sexuality are being developed gradually during puberty. In this time, if adolescents are misguided or deprived of acquiring reproductive health literacy they will suffer all the time in their lives. There is no doubt that sexual maturity leads to happiness and fulfillment in future personal and social relationships. So there is no alternative for adolescents to learn about issues related to reproductive health from parents, teachers and other elders for being able to understand and develop a healthy attitude.

Vulnerability to HIV/AIDS is skyrocketing in the developing countries jeopardized by lack of qualitative reproductive health literacy among the adolescents. But reproductive health literacy itself offers one of the key hopes against HIV/AIDS epidemic as well as its influential eventualities. In fighting the pandemic, reproductive health literacy comprising transfer of skills and attitudes to reduce adolescents’ vulnerabilities to HIV/AIDS is the most effective means. It is seriously necessary to reduce the fear of HIV/AIDS any how. Reproductive health literacy can do a lot to combat HIV/AIDS facilitating adolescents in attaining the knowledge, attitudes and skills that they need to delay sexual intercourse, reduce their number of sex partners, prevent illicit drug/substance use and avoid infection by using condoms.

The academic curriculum of the developing countries like Bangladesh should provide adolescents with opportunities to learn and practice life skills, such as decision-making and communication skills, which can strengthen other important areas of early life development. It is expected that different aspects of inclusive HIV/AIDS/STI study must be built-in into all suitable subject areas, such as reproductive health, human rights & legal aids, home economics, gender development & women empowerment, social studies and science.

Anirudha Alam
Assistant Director (Information & Development Communication)
BEES (Bangladesh Extension Education Services)
183, Lane 2, Eastern Road, New DOHS
Mohakhali, Dhaka 1206
Bangladesh.
Website: http://www.bees-bd.org/

Phone: 01718342876, 9889732, 9889733 (office), 8050514 (res.)
E-mail: anirudha.alam@gmail.com, info@bees-bd.org, bees@worldnetbd.net

Ref: FHI, UNESCO, World Bank

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Community based strategic plan to curb spread of HIV AIDS

By anirudha alam [ 11/04/2007 ]

Community based strategic planto curb spread of HIV/AIDS
Anirudha Alam

Curbing the spread of HIV/AIDS is a human rights issue. A commitment to solidarity, hope and compassion promotes comprehensive campaign as for HIV/AIDS prevention. It may result in a holistic effort to strengthen community based network through advocacy, capacity building and behavioral change communication (BCC). Having no minimal amenities, community people are led to vulnerabilities to HIV/AIDS enormously. They are mostly disadvantaged due to having no access to basic rights. If there is any community based common plan in support of the local response to HIV epidemic the reasons of vulnerability may be removed gradually and effectively.

Community based strategic plan to address HIV/AIDS should be outlined to prevent escalation of epidemic through action research in ways that recognize human rights and self-respect. In this aspect, it is greatly essential to organize social mobilization and accelerate support form local stakeholders and development partners involved in the community based response to HIV. There is no doubt that community based approach is a fundamental mechanism to stimulate the local contribution to deal with HIV/AIDS. To gather maximum support for community based efforts on HIV/AIDS, at first programs have to emphasize on coming in close contact with the local people. This is the effective means to be familiar with the values and perception of local people. Then they will be made to understand and perform the desired responsibility in response to HIV/AIDS.

Community based strategic plan encompassing local expertise and constructive commitment should be initiated to subvert the prevalence of HIV/AIDS in the light of national HIV policy framework and Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). It would allow a profound and greater understanding of the nature of epidemic, its spread and eventuality.

According to UNAIDS estimates, over half of new HIV infections are occurring among young people (15-24 years) – or over 7,000 new infections a day worldwide. Around 95% of people with HIV/AIDS live in the communities of developing countries. Nowadays HIV is a common threat to men, women and children in all communities throughout the world. The challenges in responding to HIV/AIDS may vary enormously from community to community owing to geographical location, livelihood status, social infrastructure and so on. Cross border movement, women trafficking, neighboring to high prevalent communities, gaps in health care delivery, low levels of HIV/AIDS awareness and sexual bondage because of poverty make the communities vulnerable affecting public health systems. To combat this vulnerability with regard to HIV/AIDS, there is no single solution. But integrated community approach may play an influential role to protect from sexually transmitted infections (STIs). This is why adopting a gender sensitive and human rights based approach, community oriented strategic plan will be well-equipped and groomed with a wide range of local stakeholders’ support and participation to address HIV/AIDS. Side by side community people will be efficient to discuss and develop norms, values and practice as to safe sexual behavior.

Community focused strategic plan for HIV/AIDS has to be based on the reality of the epidemic engendered from thorough case studies. The prevalence of HIV may remain low in communities. But there are some considerable factors that can play vital role to fuel its rapid spread extensively. Polygamy, dowry, gender violence & discrimination, believes in superstitions as well as lack of safe health practice may kindle the spread of HIV/AIDS. If the awareness is not shaped fruitfully community wise, all of the programs to undermine the spread of HIV/AIDS will be failed. For instance, HIV/AIDS prevalence was low for many years in Indonesia even with lots of risky behavior. But in the past two or three years, the circumstances have been changed. At present, HIV/AIDS prevalence is growing severely in several communities of the country.

At last we may infer that any kind of community based strategic plan should be comprehensive, consistent, coordinated, constructive, consequence oriented and above all committed to community exclusively. Capitalizing on these key characteristics indicated by six C’s, it will be possible to attain a high watermark of success to combat skyrocketing vulnerability to HIV/AIDS.

Anirudha Alam
Assistant Director (Information & Development Communication)
BEES (Bangladesh Extension Education Services)
183, Lane 2, Eastern Road, New DOHS
Mohakhali, Dhaka 1206
Bangladesh.
Website: http://www.bees-bd.org

Phone: 01718342876, 9889732, 9889733 (office), 8050514 (res.)
E-mail: anirudha.alam@gmail.com, info@bees-bd.org, bees@worldnetbd.net
Ref: UNAIDS, UNESCO, UNISEF

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Women Empowerment, Cornerstone of HIV Prevention

By anirudha alam [ 10/04/2007 ]

Women Empowerment, Cornerstoneof HIV Prevention
Anirudha Alam

There are some forms of risky behavior that directly makes women vulnerable to HIV/AIDS in the developing countries like Bangladesh. It should be cornerstone of life to get rid of risky behavior through improving living standard any how. For the greater involvement of vulnerable women in every aspect of curbing epidemic, they have to be able to respond to the epidemic in a meaningful manner.

In a society, if women and girls are not empowered to develop life skills they are severely vulnerable to HIV/AIDS. Gender discrimination, sexual violence, women trafficking, dowry, early marriage and low levels of reproductive health literacy are considered as key factors in the spread of STIs.

A large proportion of women is infected with HIV from regular partners who were infected during paid sex. For instance, in Mumbai and Pune (in Maharashtra), 54% and 49% of sex workers, respectively, had been found to be HIV-infected in 2005. Across sub-Saharan Africa, women are more likely than men to be infected with HIV. The unfortunate fact is that vulnerability among women is mounting all over the world. Only women empowerment can contain this vulnerability.

Profound advocacy can be an important and familiar way of breaking down barriers for undermining gender discrimination and stigma. The spread of HIV/AIDS is being fueled among the women of developing countries through such risky factors as exorbitant prevalence of HIV in the neighboring countries, increased population movement both internal & external, existence of commercial sex with multiple clients, high prevalence of STIs among the commercial sex workers, unsafe sex practice through bridging population, sexual bondage, the trend of rise of HIV among injecting drug users, unprotected pre-marital sex as well as dire poverty. On the other hand, sustainable family bondage as well as integrated praxis of religious and social values make these countries less vulnerable comparatively.

According to AIDS researcher Mohammad Khairul Alam, “Women empowerment is the first step to stamp out gender discrimination and stigmatization. If we promote gender equality poverty will be reduced significantly. It is recognized that poverty helps to trigger vulnerability to HIV/AIDS. So women empowerment through development initiatives should be ensured to keep HIV/AIDS in bay. In this aspect, such promotional activities as organizing gender sensitization workshop, seminar, symposium, open discussion, popular theatre, door to door work, advocacy session and so on may play important role bringing about effective social mobilization. Thus counting on local resource mobilization and capitalizing on collective action, women empowerment program may be led by integrated approach more efficiently to undermine vulnerabilities to HIV/AIDS.”

It is estimated that more than 14,000 people are getting infected with HIV all over the world every day. Among of them, 2000 are children under 15 years mostly getting infection of HIV through mother to child transmission. So mother to child transmission (MTCT) is considered as an important issue in spreading HIV/AIDS. There is scientific evidence of likely presence of HIV virus in breast milk. Therefore gender issues comprising improved services as to maternal & child care should be ensured through the HIV/AIDS prevention program.

As per the findings of National Assessment of Situation and Responses to Opioid/Opiate use in Bangladesh (NASROB) conducted in 2001, 14% of the female heroin smokers started heroin use below 18 years of age and 38% by 18 year. 22% of the current female injectors started injecting drug by 19 years of age. BEES (Bangladesh Extension Education Services) found that 90% young girls (15-25 years) of Bangladesh are very much vulnerable to AIDS and STIs that they do not know how to take care of their reproductive and sexual health. They have no inclination or are not enough empowered to believe it necessary to seek advice on safe reproductive health as well.

Reproductive health is still a taboo in Bangladesh, particularly with adolescent girls. With very limited access to health care facilities, knowledge and education, they have no understanding about the ways of protecting themselves. But women should be empowered through developing life skills that they can have more control over their reproductive and sexual health. Consequently HIV/AIDS prevention program will sustain comprehensively attaining high watermark of success in reducing vulnerabilities to STIs.

Anirudha Alam
Assistant Director (Information & Development Communication)
BEES (Bangladesh Extension Education Services)
183, Lane 2, Eastern Road, New DOHS
Mohakhali, Dhaka 1206
Bangladesh.
Website: http://www.bees-bd.org

Phone: 01718342876, 9889732, 9889733 (office), 8050514 (res.)
E-mail: anirudha.alam@gmail.com, info@bees-bd.org, bees@worldnetbd.net

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Stamping out Gender Discrimination to Prevent HIV AIDS

By anirudha alam [ 10/04/2007 ]

Stamping out Gender Discriminationto Prevent HIV/AIDS
Anirudha Alam

Gender discrimination saps social consistency jeopardizing health and educational development. It is increasingly recognized as a key factor that makes women gravely vulnerable to AIDS and STIs (Sexually Transmitted Infections). Improving and intensifying poverty reduction strategies pragmatically, overall development programs should be en-gendered. Otherwise development achievements may be endangered failing to contain epidemic.

Approximately 17.7 million women were living with HIV/AIDS in 2006 all over the world. Multiple vulnerabilities like social, cultural, economical and biological factors intertwined as a vicious circle may make prevalence sky-high anytime among women in the developing countries of Asia. So we have to raise a clarion call on combating the spread of epidemic through ensuring gender equality.

Gender discrimination promotes unequal access to resources and opportunities, sexual violence, practice of unprotected sex, women trafficking and women’s paltry representation and participation in social development activities. All of this result in power disparities that characterize personal relationships between male and female undermine the development of not only women but also a nation to a great extent. In this context, capitalizing on capacity building initiatives for vulnerable women encompassing sensitization, training & orientation, exchanging information, experience & views and networking may play an important role to reduce the incidents of HIV as a whole.

Having significant and multifaceted impact on public health, education, technology, business and administration sector as well as on demography, household, macro economy and society on a great scale, HIV/AIDS continues to spread in Asia and the Pacific. Comprehensive HIV/AIDS prevention programs have been initiated successfully in some countries. Nonetheless several grave factors like illiteracy, gender inequality, unprotected extra marital sexual behavior, increasing use of intravenous drugs, isolation from generic health care services as well as lack of outreach treatment and care services are contributing to the spread of HIV/AIDS gradually from most-at-risk population to the general population. As a result, the number of HIV infections among women is increasing day by day. This is why focusing very appropriately and timely on the importance of women empowerment, policy makers should be made gender sensitized necessarily.

Adopting an inter-sectoral approach to gender equality and establishing links between gender, development and HIV/AIDS, vulnerable nations have to have technical supports to confront epidemic. There is no alternative to integrate gender into such major development areas as good governance, poverty alleviation, disaster management & recovery, sustainable environment promotion, information & development communication (IDC) as well as HIV/AIDS prevention.

An in-depth study entitled ‘The impact of women empowerment on HIV/AIDS prevention in Bangladesh’ conducted by BEES (Bangladesh Extension Education Services) indicates that women are mostly vulnerable to HIV/AIDS due to their inherited conservative behavior, beliefs in superstitions and religious dogmas. They are deprived of enjoying their minimal rights as well. Consequently they are affected by gender discrimination severely. A recent survey initiated by Rainbow Nari O Shishu Kallayan Foundation showed that only 22% young women (15-25 years) had heard of HIV/AIDS and do not know how to protect themselves from AIDS/STIs.

HIV/AIDS epidemic is mounting all over the world especially in the developing countries being the greatest impediment to human development. Young girls and women are greatly vulnerable due to their lack of power and means to protect themselves from practice of unsafe sex and ignorance as regards reproductive health. Through a gender lens, multisectoral development strategies should be both pro-poor and pro-women supporting the integration of HIV/AIDS prevention into the development planning activities. Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are intended to halve extreme poverty and hunger by 2015. So in the course of reducing poverty, promotion of gender equitable behaviors through gender awareness will be able to contribute to reversing the spread of HIV/AIDS as per the desired achievement .

Anirudha Alam
Assistant Director (Information & Development Communication)
BEES (Bangladesh Extension Education Services)
183, Lane 2, Eastern Road, New DOHS
Mohakhali, Dhaka 1206
Bangladesh.
Website: http://www.bees-bd.org

Phone: 01718342876, 9889732, 9889733 (office), 8050514 (res.)
E-mail: anirudha.alam@gmail.com, info@bees-bd.org, bees@worldnetbd.net
Ref: UNDP, UNESCO, World Bank

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Gender Equality, Beacon of Hope for AIDS Prevention

By anirudha alam [ 10/04/2007 ]



Gender Equality, Beaconof Hope for AIDS Prevention

Anirudha Alam



Gender equality, a well-defined by-product of human development, always entrenches inclination on how to focus attention on women empowerment. Simultaneously women empowerment confronts challenges consecutively in translating the responsibilities to gender equality into action. Gender discrimination is the prime source of endemic poverty leading to skyrocketing HIV prevalence. With a view to making gender equality a reality as a core commitment, women empowerment has to be the stepping stone to sustainable development.



HIV/AIDS epidemic is raging in Africa and mounting all over the world mostly due to gender discrimination, stigmatization and unsafe sex practice. To make the spread of epidemic flagged, widening gender gaps must be combated. Nowadays young women and girls are at a much higher risk than men. As per the findings of surveys and case studies conducted in Africa, adolescent girls are 5-6 times more likely to be infected by HIV virus than boys.



Taking an inclusive approach to gender awareness, people should be stimulated to move towards a common interest for sexual rights. Sexuality comprising sex, gender identities, amusement, sensualism as well as reproduction is considered as the cornerstone of being human all over the life through experiencing and sharing thoughts, beliefs, perception, values, fantasies, excitement, desire, interest, attitudes, praxis, behavior, relationships and so on. In the name of gender equality, sexuality may be guided positively and creatively by social, economical, biological, legal, ethical, racial, political, historical, religious, psychological and cultural factors interwoven inextricably. As a result, it would be easy to take any kind of promotional activities fruitfully for reducing vulnerabilities to STDs (sexually transmitted diseases) and HIV/AIDS.



Sexual and reproductive ill-health results in dire poverty led to widespread vulnerabilities to HIV/AIDS. Sexual and reproductive health problems account for about 20% of ill-health of women globally and 14% of men occurred owing to lack of appropriate sexual and reproductive health. In Saudi Arabia, approximately half (46 per cent) of HIV infection was eventuated due to unprotected sex in 2005. All are mostly the consequences of gender discrimination attributed by religious dogmas, social ill-beliefs and monopolistic male hegemony intertwined with unsafe sex practices.



According to the social development specialist Saiful Islam Robin, “It should be realized that there is no alternative to develop and enhance life skills of vulnerable girls and women to cope with epidemic. They may be assisted on the various levels to become engaged in grooming their confidence and organized. At the same time, their voices should be allowed to be heard loud and clear. Thus the collective effort of women is born with the sense or purpose that they will be stirred up to share perceptions improving their access to reproductive health related information and services.”



Gender equality helps vulnerable women to be benefited from poverty reduction, activities for sustainable development, access to information & communication technology as well as HIV prevention. As a cross-cutting dimension of human development, campaigning for gender equality underpins human rights protected in law and practice. It supports fruitfully capacity development of women enhancing women’s participation in development activities.



As per the findings of a recent research entitled ‘Role of Poverty Reduction to Reduce Vulnerability to HIV/AIDS in Bangladesh’ initiated by Rainbow Nari O Shishu Kallayan Foundation, “To track how epidemic often widens when vulnerability deepens, gender mainstreaming in poverty reduction strategies has to integrate multi-disciplinary approach specially focusing on good governance and gender equality through promoting participatory resource planning and internalizing HIV/AIDS prevention into overall development initiatives. Poverty is closely associated with illiteracy and women’s so called participation in development programs. As a result, vulnerability to HIV/AIDS is fueled promoted by gender discrimination and power imbalances between male and female.”



An essential fact is that everybody should be committed to gender mainstreaming. Gender mainstreaming is the keystone in human development. So every development program like HIV/AIDS prevention should be deliberate in providing support to establish human rights that women may be benefited equally from gender neutral development strategies.



Anirudha Alam

Assistant Director

(Information & Development Communication)

BEES (Bangladesh Extension Education Services)

183, Lane 2, Eastern Road, New DOHS

Mohakhali, Dhaka 1206

Bangladesh.

Website: http://www.bees-bd.org/

Phone: 01718342876, 9889732, 9889733 (office), 8050514 (res.)

E-mail: anirudha.alam@gmail.com, info@bees-bd.org, bees@worldnetbd.net

Ref: UNDP, WHO, UNAIDS, Family Care International



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Human Immunodeficiency Virus A Nurses Guide

By James McLean Bowie Bowie [ 02/03/2007 ]

Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is an RNA virus which converts RNA to DNA, which makes it a retrovirus. Retroviruses use single stranded RNA as a template to make double stranded DNA using a viral enzyme. A person who becomes infected with HIV results in a complex clinical disease known as acquired immune deficiency syndrome(AIDS), which may take ten years or more to develop.

HIV contains a protein that is called “reverse transcriptase” which is crucial for viral replication inside of T-cells. This eventually causes the immune system to shut down causing an extremely low tolerance to infectious diseases and eventually death.

HIV is passed on when the virus from an infected person gets into the blood stream of someone else, this can occur during unprotected sex between same sex and or heterosexual couples, there is a small chance of infection through unprotected oral sex, although the exact size of this risk is unclear. There is no method of barrier protection that completely eliminates the risk; however the use of condoms is considered the safest form of protection.

HIV can also be passed on when people use dirty needles for injections or tattoos; this can be avoided by using single use or sterilized needles. People who inject drugs can avoid infection by never sharing injection needles; it can also be transmitted, in rare cases, through being stuck with a needle that has been used by an infected person. Additionally, a baby can contract the disease by being born to an infected mother or by breastfeeding from an infected woman.

Because the early symptoms of HIV are not always obvious, a person may be able to pass on the virus before they realize that they are infected. HIV cannot be passed on through normal day to day contact, such as sitting on toilet seats or by shaking hands.

Like all viruses, HIV is comprised of only genetic material, a few proteins and a protective envelope, its genetic material, carried by single stranded RNA molecules, contains all the information needed to make more viruses. HIV can not reproduce itself outside of a cell, but when HIV invades a living cell, it turns the cell into a factory for making more HIV.

The development of HIV occurs when the virus infects CD4 T-lymphocytes; a type of white blood cell, HIV weakens the immune system and leaves the infected individual open to deadly infections. The viruses gain access to a T-lymphocyte by attaching to CD4 proteins on the outer surface of the cell membrane. HIV infects certain human cells by binding its envelope glycoprotein’s gp120 and gp41 to specific molecules on the surface of the cells. Only cells which carry the appropriate molecules are susceptible to infection by HIV.

In the 1980s, scientists quickly recognised that a molecule called CD4, which is found particularly on certain T-lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell), was the primary binding site, but it was only in 1996 that other co-receptors that are also required for infection were identified. Fusion of the virus with the cell membrane permits the viral nucleotide to enter the cell.

As HIV disease progresses, HIV variants called synctium-inducing (SI) strains evolve within the individual’s body. SI variants can use an additional co-receptor on human cells, called CXCR4. This may allow HIV to infect a wider range of cells. Once fusion has taken place, reverse transcription then occurs to convert the viral genomic RNA into double-stranded DNA. The viral DNA is transported to the cell nucleus and is integrated, or inserted, into the normal cellular chromosomal DNA.

When the right activation signals are present, the process of making new virions begins. Using the replication machinery of the host cell, the integrated viral DNA is transcribed to make messenger RNA (mRNA) and new strands of viral genomic RNA. The viral mRNA is then translated into a protein string that is cleaved into specific viral proteins.

Assembly of new virions then takes place within the cell, and the new HIV particles are released by budding from the cell surface, taking a piece of the cell membrane as their envelope.

HIV replication can directly kill CD4 + T-lymphocytes. The loss of these cells paralyses the immune system and is one mechanism by which HIV infection causes AIDS.

People who have HIV may look and feel completely well, but their immune systems may nevertheless be damaged. There are no set symptoms for HIV or AIDS, usually if a person becomes infected with HIV they do not notice they have been infected, some may however suffer from a flu like illness shortly after infection. It is important to note that once someone is infected they can pass HIV on, even if they feel well.

The more time passes, the more likely damage is to have occurred to the immune system. Once the immune system is compromised, the person may be susceptible to ‘opportunistic infections’, these are infections that are around us all the time and can normally be fought off by a healthy immune system. Also, some tumours or cancers can occur as a result of a damaged immune system and can cause damage to the brain and nervous system. These ‘symptoms’ are not caused by HIV, but by the opportunistic infections, so until the immune system is so damaged that other infections begin to cause health problems which become increasingly difficult to treat.

The only way to know if a person is infected is for them to have and HIV Antibody Test. HIV and AIDS is such a world wide epidemic it is vitally important that people are educated in the disease.

Zidovudine (brand name retrovir), formerly known as AZT from its synthetic chemical name, azidothymidine, is the drug most commonly used in the treatment of HIV infection. The drug inhibits the replication of HIV by interfering with the process of reverse transcription, which is necessary for the production of new virus particles.

Zidovudine was shown by clinical trials in 1986 to be effective at improving survival in patients with AIDS, and has since then been licensed as the first choice treatment for HIV infection in Europe, North America and Australia. The drug appears temporarily to delay the progression of disease and death in people who have HIV infection symptoms, but does not significantly delay the development of AIDS in HIV-positive people without symptoms.

Zidovudine is increasingly prescribed as part of a combination of antiviral drugs, and a recent international study conducted in Britain and the United States showed that this approach results in greatly enhanced survival when compared with Zidovudine treatment alone.

It appears to have a significant protective effect against HIV related brain disease and dementia. This is due to the ease with which the drug crosses the blood brain barrier, a quality not shared by other anti HIV drugs that have come into use subsequently. Because of the lack of effective treatment for HIV, more importance is put on preventive strategies. All blood donors are screened for HIV, greatly reducing any chances of contracting HIV through a blood transfusion, or through factor VIII for haemophiliacs.

A key preventive strategy has been to change behaviour through education and promotion of safe sex. This has been promoted through advertising and education, with television taking the lead in promoting the use of condoms, especially to young people.

The transmission of HIV through intravenous drug users is also reduced by education, and there is also a Government sponsored needle exchange programme, where clean needles can be collected free of charge, thus stopping the infection being passed on by the sharing of dirty needles.

About the author:
James McLean Bowie is an author and book dealer who resides in East Yorkshire England. He owns a number of web sites which are book related and offer resources for writers, collectors hobbyist's and webmasters. http://jamesbowiebooks.com http://bowiebooks.com

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