AIDS: what it is / causes and consequences today

"The gift of life is the most important gift that anyone can give"

by Lucrezia Fioretti LSP Assisi/ Italy

This phrase was uttered by Apple's CEO (Chief Executive Officer) Tim Cook in an interview.

I first read it in an article about AIDS which deals with the World AIDS Day and how Apple launched a charity campaign in 2016, the profit of which would be donated to the RED charity organization, an association founded by U2 singer Bono and which wants to help the research through a number of initiatives.

Last December some gaming apps changed their icon colour to red (the colour supporting AIDS awareness campaigns) and for every transaction Apple donated $1, until a total of $1m was reached. Around 400 Apple stores switched their logo colours.

The RED charity raises money for life-saving medication in sub-Saharan Africa, which has the highest percentage of Aids/HIV on earth. The money collected by Apple would be used for prevention, counselling and testing. It also means to provide an ARV medication to prevent the transmission of HIV from mothers to babies. The World AIDS Day takes place every 1st of December and it is an opportunity for people all around the world to unite in the fight against HIV.

This is exactly what I want to underline: we live in a world which is divided. Every day we hear about wars that divide countries or about our lack of respect for the planet and the people who live on it. That is why the AIDS World Day is important. Not only because it is a global health day but also because we can consider it as an occasion to really act together.      Pixabay.com It is also important to underline what Apple has done: almost without doing anything, we can make someone feel better and, as Tim Cook says, we can “give the gift of life” to someone who needs it. If we want a cure and a treatment for this disease we must be the first to take part in initiatives like this. I know that we cannot presume to find a definitive solution to something like HIV/ AIDS, but we can try to change the world and the lives of the people who are less lucky than we are.

I admire this initiative because a huge company like Apple has shown that it does not care only about profit. On the contrary, it considers important to leave the future generations something that could change their lives. "We want to leave the world better than we found it, and that's why our long-time partnership with (RED) remains so important to us," says Tim Cook.

To me, it is encouraging to see how businessmen or celebrities like Bono take these problems to heart. That is why we do not have to see them so far away from our reality: they are problems that may affect anyone, and not only the Sub-Saharan African people. If we want the world to change we must be the first ones to act, starting from the desire of being aware and involved, because this will improve our future and we have the duty to make it better.

Posted 04.03.2017 12:31

AIDS/HIV: LEARN TO ACT

by Giulia Palmacci, LSP Assisi / Italy

AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) is a disease that prevents the body from fighting against other infectious diseases. It is caused by a virus known as HIV and it infects and damages the body's defences that fight against external aggressions. Women too, during pregnancy, if HIV-positive, run a risk of transmitting the virus to the foetus at the moment of childbirth or during breastfeeding. The article 'HIV infections in neonatal and paediatric age' from the site NSP Italia Onlus (Research of Paediatric Teaching Hospital of Milan) that I have read demonstrates that in the world about 2 million children are infected with HIV. Most of these children live in developing countries, due to the lack of appropriate precautionary intervention. The HIV virus attacks lymphocytes, called T-helper (known as T-cells). It predominates on them and multiplies. This continuous process destroys other cells, compromising the body's abilities to react to foreign bodies through the immune system. When the number of these cells reduces, the patients are more predisposed to other infections. Even though a vaccine or a decisive medicine for HIV/AIDS has not been discovered, some types of behaviour may prevent the infection, such as understanding how the virus acts and knowing which practices reduce the risk of infection like using condoms, avoiding syringes used by others for drugs or during tattoos and piercings (in fact it is always necessary to disinfect the needles to make them safe.). HIV can be fought by therapies that allow infected individuals to live a long life, with the same life expectancy as normal people. In the case of a HIV diagnosis, it is necessary to regularly undergo blood tests to monitor the progress of the infection before starting the treatment. This involves checking the amount of virus in the blood (viremia) and the effects of the virus on the immune system.

image taken  from Pixabay; Posted 06.03.2017 15:08

HIV vaccine test hopes for breakthrough in combat against the virus

by Michela Volpicelli, LSP Assisi / Italy

AIDS, or Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, is a syndrome caused by a virus called HIV, Human Immune Deficiency Virus. This illness affects the immune system, which makes people much more vulnerable to infections and diseases. HIV can be transmitted in many ways, such as blood transfusions, contaminated needles, and sexual intercourse.

HIV is considered a pandemic in South Africa. In fact, here a new trial for a potential vaccine against HIV is taking place, raising hopes that it will help put an end of the epidemic.

Dr Anthony Fauci, director of the “National Institute of allergy and infectious diseases”, says that they chose South Africa because of its dramatic situation. This kind of experiment comes from another trial that occurred in Thailand seven years ago. At that time, a vaccine known as RV144 was given to a part of the population and there was a modest benefit of about 31%. “We want to reach 50% now,” says Anthony Fauci. “But we want to change the setting and South Africa is the right place.”

Scientists have created a new vaccine, called HVTN702, and it comes from the old RV144. The trial is directed toward 5400 men and women aged 18-35. This vaccine has to be used in combination with other prevention tools such as condoms, antiretroviral drugs and circumcision. People will get five shots of the vaccine and three boosters and the experiment will take about three years.

Prof. Linda-Gail Bekker of the University of Cape Town is involved in this study. “I hope that we can reach 50% of success,” said Bekker. “So we can start to eradicate HIV.” However, vaccine and prevention tools are not enough. Scientists say that this experiment can start to change something in the way of life of the people in South Africa: “They have to understand that HIV must vanish,” said Fauci. “But we can eliminate it only if they start to live in a better way.”

Image taken from Fotolia; Posted 06.03.2017 15:15

A cure for Aids: dream or reality?

by Badr Farisse, LSP Assisi/Italy

Last week I read an article from the “the Guardian” which is a summary of what was said at the conference held in 2016 on the diseases of the Third World, especially AIDS.

This article opened my eyes and I realized that even if today AIDS is no longer in the news, it is indestructible; there is no cure but only ways to slow its spreading into the host body. Some scientists said that probably within the year 2030 a cure for this disease, that has made so many victims, might be found. But are we sure that from 2030 onwards there will be no more deaths for AIDS?

Are we sure that if a cure is found, in 2030 everyone will be able to use it? And above all, are we sure that the third world countries will have access to it? My answer is no. I think decades will have to pass before we can all afford the cure.

I hope I am wrong and it is only the opinion of a high school student. What do you think? Do you think my vision of the fact is objective or pessimistic?

image taken from Pixabay; Posted 06.03.2017 15:15

HIV in underdeveloped countries

by Diego Luna, LSP Assisi/Italy

HIV, which stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus, if left untreated can lead to the disease called AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome). Unlike other viruses, the human body cannot get rid of HIV completely, which means that once you have HIV, you have it for life.

In underdeveloped countries, this virus has the largest number of infected people. Furthermore, the African type of the virus is completely different from the European one and this is a problem for the scientists as researchers have to study two different diseases. Nonetheless, science is improving greatly: 18.2 million          people are on a drug-based treatment for life but only a few people still die because of AIDS.

Good news for those affected by this disease was the development of a vaccine known as RV144 seven years ago which showed a modest benefit of about 31% in a trial in Thailand. Furthermore, at the moment researchers are trying a new experiment in South Africa with a vaccine called HVN 702.

Dr Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious diseases in the US, said that in order to be effective, the new trial must prove itself in a relatively high-risk group. The aspiration in South Africa is to push the effectiveness up from 31% to between 50% and 60%. I found this information in an article published by “The Guardian” last November and I read it with interest because it is very precise in the statistics it provides and shows all the actions taken by the researchers in countries where hygienic conditions are very low and the health service is poor.

It is very sad to think that every day many people die because of the problems that HIV causes to their immune system, but I am optimistic because I believe that, in a few years and thanks to a vaccine, this virus will be eradicated. I strongly believe that the first step in the fight against this virus is information but, as the article suggests, “we are not going to get HIV eradication without a vaccine. That is very clear.”

picture taken from Pixabay; Posted 10.03.2017 10:58

Sara Johansson - 31.03.2017 14:16

COMMENT ON GIULIA PALMACCI´S ARTICLE: “AIDS/HIV: LEARN TO ACT”

We read the article of Giulia Palmacci on AIDS and we think that people should prevent the virus but it´s difficult to do this specifically in Africa because people are not informed about AIDS and HIV. It´s true that there are some organizations which help African people, but these organizations can´t find a solution. Everyone should be conscious about the consequences but for them to be careful it´s not possible before they know about the problem. In our countries HIV isn´t a huge problem but it's still a serious issue. We have some medicine for this disease but there´s not a cure, the only way to avoid it is to use condoms and use clean syringes.

Even though AIDS and HIV isn’t a huge problem in our countries we still think it’s very important to spread awareness and help the people who have been infected by the disease.