HIV/AIDS

SZL 2111
• General Introduction:
Public Health and Hygiene, human
physiology, sex and sexuality.
History of sexually transmitted
diseases (STD);
History of Human Immuno-deficiency
Virus/ Acquired Immune-deficiency
Syndrome (HIV/AIDS),
Comparative information on trends,
global and local distribution,
Justification of importance of course.
• Biology of HIV/AIDS:
Overview of immune system,
Natural immunity to HIV/AIDS,
The AIDS Virus and its life
cycle, disease progression
(epidemiology), transmission
and diagnosis.
• Treatment and Management:
Nutrition, prevention and control:
Abstain, Be faithful, Condom Use,
Destigmatize HIV/AIDS (ABCD)
method anti-retroviral drugs and
vaccines.
• Pregnancy and AIDS. Management of
HIV/AIDS patients.
• Social and Cultural Practices:
Religion and AIDS.
Social stigma on HIV/AIDS.
• Behavioral change. Voluntary Counselling
and Testing (VCT) services.
• Drug abuse and AIDS, Alcohol and hard
drugs.
• Poverty and AIDS. Families and AIDS
orphans.
• Government Policies:
Global policies of AIDS.
Legal rights of AIDS patients.
Intellectual property rights.
• AIDS Impact:
Family set-up/society, population,
agriculture, education, development and
Teaching Methodologies
• Three hours of lectures per week;
discussions, invited speakers
Instructional material/Equipment
• LCD projector, computers, e-learning
materials, Internet, whiteboard
Course Assessment
• Continuous assessment tests and
assignments – 30% (Group Assignment
30% and 2 sit-in CATs 30%)
• End of semester examinations – 70%
General Introduction:
What is Public health?
• Public health is the science of protecting and improving the
health of families and communities through promotion of
healthy lifestyles, research for disease and injury prevention
and detection and control of infectious diseases.
• Overall, public health is concerned with protecting the
health of entire populations. These populations can be as
small as a local neighborhood, or as big as an entire country
or region of the world.
• Public health professionals try to prevent problems from
happening or recurring through implementing educational
programs, recommending policies, administering services
and conducting research – in contrast to clinical
professionals like doctors and nurses, who focus primarily on
treating individuals after they become sick or injured. Public
health also works to limit health disparities. A large part of
public health is promoting healthcare equity, quality and
accessibility.
General Introduction:
Public Health
Hygiene (WHO)
• Hygiene refers to conditions and
practices that help to maintain
health and prevent the spread of
diseases. Medical hygiene therefore
includes a specific set of practices
associated with this preservation of
health, for example environmental
cleaning, sterilization of equipment,
hand hygiene, water and sanitation
and safe disposal of medical waste.
WHAT IS HIV?
• “HIV” stands for Human Immunodeficiency
Virus. To understand what that means, let’s
break it down:
• H – Human – This particular virus can only
infect human beings.
• I – Immunodeficiency – HIV weakens
your immune system by destroying important
cells that fight disease and infection. A
"deficient" immune system can't protect you.
• V – Virus – A virus can only reproduce itself by
taking over a cell in the body of its host.
• HIV is a lot like other viruses,
including those that cause the "flu"
or the common cold.
• But there is an important difference
– over time, your immune
system can clear most viruses out
of your body. That isn't the case
with HIV – the human immune
system can't seem to get rid of it.
That means that once you have HIV,
you have it for life.
• HIV can hide for long periods of time in the cells of your
body
• It attacks a key part of your immune system namely
your T-cells or CD4 cells.
• T-cells (or T-lymphocytes) are white blood cells that
play important roles in the immune system. There are
two main types of T-cells. One type has molecules called
CD4 on its surface; these 'helper' cells organise the
immune system's response to bacteria, fungi and
viruses.
• Your body has to have these cells to fight infections and
disease.
• HIV invades them, uses them to make more copies of
itself, and then destroys them.
• Over time, HIV can destroy many
CD4 cells that the body can't
fight infections and diseases
anymore.
• Once this happens, HIV infection
can lead to AIDS, the final stage
of HIV infection.
• Not everyone who has HIV
progresses to AIDS.
WHAT IS AIDS?
“AIDS” stands for Acquired Immunodeficiency
Syndrome. To understand what that means, let’s break
it down:
• A – Acquired – AIDS is not something you inherit
from your parents. You acquire AIDS after birth.
• I – Immuno – Your body's immune system includes
all the organs and cells that work to fight off
infection or disease.
• D – Deficiency – You get AIDS when your immune
system is "deficient," or isn't working the way it
should.
• S – Syndrome – A syndrome is a collection of
symptoms and signs of disease. AIDS is a syndrome,
rather than a single disease, because it is a complex
illness with a wide range of complications and
symptoms.
• AIDS is the final stage of HIV infection,
and not everyone who has HIV
advances to this stage.
• People at this stage of HIV disease
have badly damaged immune systems,
which put them at risk
for opportunistic infections (OIs).
• You are considered to have progressed
to AIDS if you have one or more
specific OIs, certain cancers, or a very
low number of CD4 cells.
History of Sexually Transmitted Disease
• Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) have been
known to mankind for centuries. Before the
advent of modern
medicine, people's lack of awareness and
understanding of STDs contributed to the
widespread transmission of the
infections while few or no treatments were
available to treat the conditions.
• In medieval times, syphilis and gonorrhea were
two of the most prevalent STDs in Europe. One
theory suggest
that syphilis was spread by crew members who
picked up the disease on the voyages led by
Christopher Columbus.
• They are thought to have contracted
syphilis while in the Americas and to have
then spread it on their return when docking
at ports in Europe. Sailors are also thought
to be responsible for the spread of
gonorrhea from Tahiti to New Zealand
during the Cook voyages.
• Some STDs can have severe, life-changing
consequences; syphilis, for example, can
eventually cause progressive destruction of
the brain and spinal cord, leading to mental
dysfunction and hallucinations, speech
problems and general paresis.
Treatment over the centuries
• In the 18th and 19th centuries, mercury, arsenic
and sulphur were commonly used to treat
venereal disease, which often resulted in serious
side effects and many people died of mercury
poisoning. The first known effective treatment
for syphilis called salvarsan or arsphenamine was
introduced in 1910.
• In the 20th Century, the advent of penicillin and
other antibiotics led to an effective cure of
bacterial STDs. This led to the public perceiving
the illnesses as less of a threat and promiscuous
conduct continued. In the late 20th century, the
transmission of viral STDs such as HIV and herpes
arose, infections that are not curable and in
some cases may be fatal.
• Hospital treatment of venereal diseases
Due to the stigma attached to STDs, people
would often hesitate to seek help when the
disease was in its initial stages, while
continuing to transmit the infection to
unsuspecting sexual partners. In 1746, at
the London Lock Hospital, the first
treatment for venereal disease was made
available for those who sought help. In the
second half of the 19th century, the
Contagious Diseases Act was passed in
order to arrest and treat suspected
prostitutes.
• Tracing sexual partners with STDs
It was in the late 19th and early 20th
century that the importance of tracing the
sexual partners of a person infected with an
STD was recognized. Soon, sexual health
clinics were set up to identify and treat
individuals with STDs and their partners, to
prevent spread in the general population.
Another major problem that arose was an
increase in adolescent sexual activity in the
mid 20th Century. This led to widespread
infection among younger age groups and
also changed the way healthcare policy
makers tried to raise awareness through
campaigns.
A 21 year old woman with gonorrhea
A Child with gonorrhea
Syphilis
Syphilis
Assignment:
• What myths and perception does our society have
towards HIV/AIDS?
• Do you think the Kenyan government is doing
enough to curb the HIV/AIDS pandemic?
• What economic and social effect does HIV/AIDS
pandemic have on our society?