do we realy aware about HIV/AIDS ?

There still remains a great deal of misunderstanding and ignorance around the issue of HIV/AIDS. HIV is a virus which can be transmitted only through blood, intravenous drug use though shared needles, sexual intercourse and through a mother to her unborn child. The virus cannot be transmitted, as some people believe, through casual contact, such as kissing, using water fountains or public bathrooms. A person develops AIDS only when the HIV virus weakens the immune system to a severe degree, leaving it vulnerable to a host of other illnesses, such as pneumonia. The period it takes for HIV to develop into AIDS varies from six months to ten years. However, the new combination of drugs being developed has considerably extended the period in which a person can live with HIV before it develops into AIDS. While the number of new AIDS cases is declining, the number of people living with the HIV infection is increasing. This increased prevalence means that even more prevention efforts are needed. Individuals may be less concerned about becoming infected with HIV due to treatment advances such as protease inhibitors. However, the drugs do not work for everyone, and their long-term effectiveness is still undetermined. In addition, many cannot tolerate the side effects of the drugs or do not have access to the medications. From 1996 to 1997, the number of children (under age 13) who were diagnosed with AIDS decreased by 40%. This is thought to reflect successful efforts to reduce prenatal transmission through voluntary testing and zidovudine therapy (AZT) for pregnant HIV-infected women. People living with the disease are still subject to discrimination and humiliation, and those who advocate for them still fight against decreasing budgets. Misinformation about how HIV is transmitted and who acquires it has contributed to a heightened sense of fear and has caused many extremists to believe that the government must take drastic steps to protect the uninfected. Unfortunately, these steps have been translated into a barrage of legislation which discriminates against people with HIV/AIDS and violates many of their civil liberties, including their rights to privacy, a healthy life, and full employment.

are we doing what we are saying?

The theme is "Stop AIDS. Keep the Promise."It reminds that we have not -- that I have not. Today there are 65 million people in the world who live with AIDS. There have been 25 million deaths. The numbers are staggering. One adult in a hundred in the world is living with HIV. In parts of Africa, it is one in three. People around the world continue to fight about how to prevent AIDS -- abstinence still wins over condoms, needle exchange is still forbidden in many places, homophobia and sexism still keep people from being able to protect themselves.The good news is that AIDS is no longer a liberal/conservative issue. Such organizations as Christianity Today, Catholic Relief Services and the Ecumenical AIDS Alliance had information about World AIDS Day on their web sites. Tomorrow, Senator Obama will be preaching at Rev. Rick Warren's Saddleback Church. What more can you do to get involved? How can you "keep the promise?" I hope you'll publish those promises here.

Sketch show

...although my team didn't manage to get into the finals, i have enjoyed performing and practicing with my other team members for the sketch show. Congratulations to GS Group, Mitulu, ABC and those other teams which manage to get into the finals! Best of luck to all of you! =)

3 minuets clip about our sketch Performance

HIV in religion

What does Jesus think about HIv?

In the bible, there are a lot of verses states that adultery is against the Christianity. For example, Exodus 20:14 says that You shall not commit adultery. Besides, Deuteronomy 22:22 says that If a man is found lying with a woman married to a husband, both of them shall die…

Men had caught a man and a woman making love. One of them was married to someone else. They let off the man and judged the woman. But, did Jesus excuse her? Not at all. Did he encourage her? Not at all. Did he allow her to get off free? Not at all. He rebuked her. He told her she had been wrong. He told her never to do it again and never to do anything else wrong again. “Go and learn from your lesson” was his message.
People always reject adultery or homosexual acts as more wrong in some way than lying or cheating or stealing or being cruel or hating someone. There is no such distinction in the Bible when it comes to separation from God. The bible teaches that we all are imperfect. We all think wrong, feel wrong and do wrong. We all fall far short of God’s standards. None of us deserves any reward or favours from God, and there is nothing we can do to earn his pleasure

Having HIV is not a shame...they need our help...

Spreading OF HIV

Extra Info -

HIV is not spread through:
-casual contact, such as hugs or handshakes
-drinking glasses
-sneezes
-coughs-
mosquitoes or other insects
-towels-
-toilet seats
-doorknobs

Then,
How It Spreads ???

FiRST

Mother to child

Women can transmit HIV to their babies during pregnancy or birth. Approximately one-quarter to one-third of all untreated pregnant women infected with HIV will pass the infection to their babies. HIV also can be spread to babies through the breast milk of mothers infected with the virus. If the mother takes certain drugs during pregnancy, she can significantly reduce the chances that her baby will get infected with HIV. If health care providers treat HIV-infected pregnant women and deliver their babies by cesarean section, the chances of the baby being infected can be reduced to a rate of 1 percent. HIV infection of newborns has been almost eradicated in the United States due to appropriate treatment.

SeCOnd

Contaminated needles

HIV is frequently spread among injection drug users by the sharing of needles or syringes contaminated with very small quantities of blood from someone infected with the virus.It is rare, however, for a patient to give HIV to a health care worker or vice-versa by accidental sticks with contaminated needles or other medical instruments.

ThIRD

Infected blood

HIV also is spread through contact with infected blood. Before donated blood was screened for evidence of HIV infection and before heat-treating techniques to destroy HIV in blood products were introduced, HIV was transmitted through transfusions of contaminated blood or blood components. Today, because of blood screening and heat treatment, the risk of getting HIV from such transfusions is extremely small.
Having sexual contact, including oral, with an infected person without using a condom

~Arguments On Pros And Cons~

According to our topic, HIV/AIDS, there are not any valid pros which could act as arguments. However, there are a number of cons such as:

Health problems which involve the widespread of diseases in the nation

Retrovirus Viruses^

~HIV belongs to a class of viruses called retroviruses, which have genes composed of ribonucleic acid (RNA) molecules. The genes of humans and most other organisms are made of a related molecule, deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA).Like all viruses, HIV can replicate only inside cells, commandeering the cell's machinery to reproduce. However, only HIV and other retroviruses, once inside a cell, use an enzyme called reverse transcriptase to convert their RNA into DNA, which can be incorporated into the host cell's genes.

Slow viruses^

~HIV belongs to a subgroup of retroviruses known as lentiviruses, or "slow" viruses. The course of infection with these viruses is characterized by a long interval between initial infection and the onset of serious symptoms.Other lentiviruses infect nonhuman species. For example, the feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) infects cats and the simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) infects monkeys and other nonhuman primates. Like HIV in humans, these animal viruses primarily infect immune system cells, often causing immunodeficiency and AIDS-like symptoms. These viruses and their hosts have provided researchers with useful, albeit imperfect, models of the HIV disease process in people.

Cause Uneasiness to Victims By Making Them Terribly Sick

Early symptoms:

a)Fever
b)Headache
c)Tiredness
d)Enlarged lymph nodes (glands of the immune system easily felt in the neck and groin)

Other symptoms :

a) Lack of energy
b) Weight loss
c) Frequent fevers and sweats
d) Persistent or frequent yeast infections (oral or vaginal)
e) Persistent skin rashes or flaky skin
f) Short-term memory loss


Increased the countries' liabilities

~The country has to contribute more money in the medical fields to cure the patients who suffered. This might give a burden to the country's economy. It will affect the country's development due to the enormous increasing rate of HIV and AIDS.

How AIDS virus like?

A silhouette of the AIDS virus (arrow) is shown adjacent to a portion of a T-helper cell's surface to indicate approximate scale. Protrusions on the T-helper's surface are membrane-associated proteins, one variety of which (known as CD-4) represents the binding site for HIV before its internalization, the first step in its infection of the cell.

Prevention of HIV/AIDS (Additional Points)

PREVENTION
Because no vaccine for HIV is available, the only way to prevent infection by the virus is to avoid behaviors that put you at risk of infection, such as sharing needles and having unprotected sex.
Many people infected with HIV have no symptoms. Therefore, there is no way of knowing with certainty whether your sexual partner is infected unless he or she has repeatedly tested negative for the virus and has not engaged in any risky behavior. You should either abstain from having sex or use male latex condoms or female polyurethane condoms, which may offer partial protection, during oral, anal, or vaginal sex. Only water-based lubricants should be used with male latex condoms.
Although some laboratory evidence shows that spermicides can kill HIV, researchers have not found that these products can prevent you from getting HIV.

6 Promising Routes to HIV Prevention

6 Promising Routes to HIV Prevention

The report, released here at the XVI International AIDS Conference, surveyed the state of research on six promising approaches for the prevention of HIV: male circumcision; cervical barriers such as diaphragms; HIV "prevention pills"; suppression of herpes, which raises the risk of contracting HIV threefold; topical microbicides; and HIV vaccines.

1. Male Circumcision
A trial of over 3,000 young men showed that those who are circumcised are about 60% less likely to be infected with HIV, compared with those who are not circumcised, says Gita Ramjee, PhD, of the HIV Prevention Research Unit of the South Africa Medical Research Unit.
And another study predicted that widespread implementation of male circumcision could avert 2 million new infections in sub-Saharan Africa alone.
But circumcisions must be safely performed by trained health providers -- something that is lacking in many developing countries, the report notes.

2. Microbicides
Gels and creams applied to the vagina or rectum to reduce HIV transmission, microbicides are a hot area of research, Ramjee says.
They can combat HIV on a variety of fronts: disabling the virus, interfering with the process by which the virus enters and takes hold in cells, and even strengthening the body's defenses against infection.
As of mid-2006, there were over 25 products in various stages of development, with five in late-stage studies of effectiveness. Results could be available by late 2007, Ramjee says.
Blocking the AIDS Virus

3. Diaphragms and Other Cervical Barriers
"Diaphragms physically block the virus from reaching the cervix, where there is good reason to believe most infections occur," says Nancy Padion, PhD, professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of California, San Francisco.
Results of a trial of over 5,000 women comparing use of the diaphragm plus condoms with condoms alone are expected in 2007.
Future research will look at using the diaphragm in conjunction with a microbicide for dual protection, Ramjee says.

4. HIV 'Prevention Pills'
Testing of an AIDS "prevention pill" on about 860 high-risk women in Cameroon, Ghana, and Nigeria suggest that the approach is safe and feasible, according to research presented at the conference.
While the numbers were too small to prove effectiveness, the research is encouraging enough to "suggest it is good for HIV prevention," Ramjee says. "Now we need further study to figure out how it should be given."

5. Herpes Treatment
Genital herpes increases the risk of HIV infection threefold, and herpes can be treated with drugs. "The hope is that by decreasing herpes infections, we can reduce the risk of HIV transmissions," Ramjee says.
Two clinical trials evaluating the strategy are underway.

6. HIV Vaccines
There is renewed hope for a vaccine, thanks to 16 grants totaling $287 million from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
But a vaccine, widely considered to be the best way to control the epidemic, is probably still years away.
"We are fully confident we have a vaccine, but we've stopped predicting when: It could be five years, 10 years, or more," Gayle says.

Risk factors

You're at greatest risk of HIV/AIDS if you:

• Have unprotected sex with multiple partners. You're at risk whether you're heterosexual, homosexual or bisexual. Unprotected sex means having sex without using a new latex or polyurethane condom every time.
• Have unprotected sex with someone who is HIV-positive.
• Have another sexually transmitted disease, such as syphilis, herpes, chlamydia, gonorrhea or bacterial vaginosis.
• Share needles during intravenous drug use.
• Have hemophilia and received blood products between 1977 and April 1985 — the date standard testing for HIV began.
• Received a blood transfusion or blood products before 1985.
• Have fewer copies of a gene called CCL3L1 that helps fight HIV infection.

Newborns or nursing infants whose mothers tested positive for HIV but did not receive treatment also are at high risk.

From MayoClinic.com

Avoid the above factors and check with your doctor if you suspect that you might be HIV positive

World AIDS day theme 2007

LEADERSHIP

“Leadership” will be the theme for the 2007 and 2008 World AIDS Day, the World AIDS Campaign announced today. Promoted with the slogan, “Stop AIDS. Keep the Promise.”, which is the World AIDS Campaign emphasis from 2005-2010, “leadership” will build on the 2006 World AIDS Day focus on accountability. World AIDS Day is celebrated on 1 December each year.

The theme for World AIDS Day has been determined by the World AIDS Campaign since 1997. The Global Steering Committee (GSC) of the World AIDS Campaign selected the theme of leadership during their meeting held in Geneva , 8-9 February 2007, agreeing to launch the theme in the first week of March.

Some statements on what leadership means to some of the GSC members who represent important stakeholders in the response to HIV and AIDS:

Linda Hartke, Coordinator, Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance: “Leadership can imply the power and authority to make a difference, to lead by action and example. In many faith contexts, though, a leader is a servant - ­someone who responds to the needs of the community, supports others in their planning and action, and empowers people by both words and resources. By taking on the global theme of leadership for World AIDS Day, faith leaders and the communities they are a part of can help articulate a vision, build relationships and take concrete action in solidarity with all people committed to reaching universal access for HIV prevention, treatment and care.”

Deloris Dockrey, Chairperson, Global Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS and representative for International Community of Women Living with HIV/AIDS: “We are still dying! Leadership requires that we face this reality. While leadership is a strong call and can easily be embraced, I have been very disappointed with our leaders. While scaling up of HIV care is prioritised, it is under funded and poorly implemented. Faith leaders continue to deny the existence of HIV/AIDS in the communities and congregations they serve. Governments are complacent, and have not provided the leadership needed to end the epidemic.”

Alan Leather, Chairperson, Global Unions Programme on HIV/AIDS: “Trade unions are mass membership organisations with leaders at global, national and community levels. Labour leaders have mobilised their networks, integrated AIDS in their programmes, defended the rights of workers with HIV, encouraged voluntary testing, and promoted workplace action. Union advocacy and leadership is crucial if countries are to achieve universal access to treatment, care and prevention by 2010."

Mabel Bianco, Coordinator, International Women’s AIDS Caucus and President, FEIM: “All gender and women related issues in the context of HIV/AIDS are inter-connected and inter-linked. Thus we recognise that all forms of leadership must be included in responses to HIV/AIDS. Women’s movements and NGOs, particularly organisations and networks of people living with HIV/AIDS, as well as grassroots organisations, have played imperative roles in demonstrating important and effective leaderships in prevention, care and treatment of HIV/AIDS since the beginning of the epidemic.”

Prateek Suman, Youth Coalition: ”Young people are the worst hit by HIV/AIDS but they also have a vital role to play in the fight against the pandemic. Youth leadership is essential to an effective international response to HIV/AIDS and young people must be empowered with the knowledge, skills and resources they need in order to achieve the goal of universal access by 2010.”

For more information about the World AIDS Day theme of leadership click here.

-Repost from http://www.worldaidscampaign.info/index.php/en/media__1/media_for_world_aids_day/leadership_chosen_as_theme_for_world_aids_day

In support of this call, we should take the lead in preventing AIDS in our country, our home, our love ones, or maybe.. just ourself in order to make a different to this Earth. ^^

Utilitarianism

Utilitarianism is an ethical theory which belives in that the act which brings biggest interest to all is the best moral act.We believe that this ethical theory applies to our study topic.
-Before performing an action, a person must consider everyone affected, not just the person directly involved in the situation;consider the consequences of our action to other people. - Don't let the others use the needles which have been opened or used already - Consider our family before getting ourselves involve in actions which will cause HIV and Aids.
-Look at the consequences of each act and calculate utility each time the act is performed.
-We should do things that will bring the most benefit to every humans; help each other to prevent Aids as it is harmful to everyone.