8.2.4 Recommendations from panellists who subscribe to HIV as the cause of AIDSDr Gayle and Prof Abdool-Karim, representing panellists who endorse the causal link between HIV and AIDS, reinforced the importance of the following initiatives for the South African government: 1. Continue strengthening the surveillance of risk factors such as the behaviour of youth. 2. Surveillance of HIV prevalence in antenatal clinics, blood banks and among workers. 3. Conducting incidence surveys. 4. AIDS surveillance at health facilities. 5. Keeping death registers. 6. Standardisation and evaluation of diagnostic criteria and their completeness for reporting purposes. 7. Surveillance of antenatal syphilis. 8. Laboratory reporting 9. Health facility reporting.

RecommendationIt is therefore strongly recommended that appropriate measures be taken to establish the necessary infrastructure and provide the necessary expertise and resources to collect the data and develop reliable and up-to-date statistics on the magnitude of the AIDS problem and the prevalence of HIV in South Africa. All efforts must be made to ensure AIDS reporting in South Africa is up to the highest standards in the world.

2 * Unexplained diarrhoea (> 1 month) Unexplained diarrhoea * Persistent cough (> 1 month) Persistent cough * Persistent unexplained fatigue and weight loss of more than 5 kg within short period Persistent unexplained fatigue Persistent unexplained weight loss * White blotches in the mouth or on tongue * White blotches in the mouth or on tongue

WHAT ARE SYMPTOMS OF AIDSAn HIV infected person initially looks normal and perfectly healthy. The symptoms of AIDS develop after few years and include: - * Long standing, unexplained fever ( > 1 month) Long standing, unexplained fever

INTRODUCTION:3"It is estimated that by the end of 20th century there were 40 million people infected with HIV all over the world and India has been leading with highest number of cases (ranging from 10-20 million). We may not be infected but will definitely be affected indirectly by it. Hence it is a duty of every citizen of India to have detailed knowledge about this disease".Due to lack of knowledge about AIDS people have fear in their mind against the victims of this disease. Because of fear of social boycott, AIDS patients and their relatives hide their HIV status. Many doctors (due to fear of getting infection) also refuse to treat these patients. There is danger of AIDS for everybody and only thing that can save us is to be completely informed.

cure66:Bone marrow transplants and gene therapyIn November 2008, a pair of German doctors made headlines by announcing they had cured a man of HIV infection by giving him a bone marrow transplant.6 The transplant - given as a treatment for leukemia - used cells from a donor with a rare genetic mutation known as Delta 32 that confers resistance to HIV infection. Twenty months after the procedure researchers reported they could find no trace of HIV in the recipient's bone marrow, blood and other organ tissues. Other experts at the time called for more tests to verify the cure claim.7In a journal article published during December 2010, the doctors concluded that the patient had indeed been cured of HIV infection. Their evidence showed a successful reconstitution of CD4(+) T cells at both the systemic level and in the gut mucosal immune system.8Bone marrow transplantation is too dangerous and costly for widespread use as a cure. Many patients die as a result of chemotherapy or reactions to the transplant, which is usually a last resort in treating life-threatening diseases.

cure5:Reputable research on curing AIDSActivating resting immune cellsMany researchers believe the best hope for eradicating HIV infection lies in combining antiretroviral treatment with drugs that flush HIV from its hiding places. The idea is to force resting CD4 cells to become active, whereupon they will start producing new HIV particles. The activated cells should soon die or be destroyed by the immune system, and the antiretroviral medication should mop up the released HIV.Early attempts to employ this technique used interleukin-2 (also known as IL-2 or by the brand name Proleukin). This chemical messenger tells the body to create more CD4 cells and to activate resting cells. Researchers who gave interleukin-2 together with antiretroviral treatment discovered they could no longer find any infected resting CD4 cells. But interleukin-2 failed to clear all of the HIV; as soon as the patients stopped taking antiretroviral drugs the virus came back again.1 2There is a problem with creating a massive number of active CD4 cells: despite the antiretroviral drugs, HIV may manage to infect a few of these cells and replicate, thus keeping the infection alive. Scientists are now investigating chemicals that don't activate all resting CD4 cells, but only the tiny minority that are infected with HIV.One such chemical is valproic acid, a drug already used to treat epilepsy and other conditions. In 2005 a group of researchers led by David Margolis caused a sensation when they reported that valproic acid, combined with antiretroviral treatment, had greatly reduced the number of HIV-infected resting CD4 cells in three of four patients. They concluded that: "This finding, though not definitive, suggests that new approaches will allow the cure of HIV in the future."3

curee2:Curing AIDS is generally taken to mean clearing the body of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. The virus replicates (makes new copies of itself) by inserting its genetic code into human cells, particularly a type known as CD4 cells. Usually the infected cells produce numerous HIV particles and die soon afterwards. Antiretroviral drugs interfere with this replication process, which is why the drugs are so effective at reducing the amount of HIV in a person's body to extremely low levels. During treatment, the concentration of HIV in the blood often falls so low that it cannot be detected by the standard test, known as a viral load test.Unfortunately, not all infected cells behave the same way. Probably the most important problem is posed by"resting" CD4 cells. Once infected with HIV, these cells, instead of producing new copies of the virus, lie dormant for many years or even decades. Current therapies cannot remove HIV's genetic material from these cells. Even if someone takes antiretroviral drugs for many years they will still have some HIV hiding in various parts of their body. Studies have found that if treatment is removed then HIV can re-establish itself by leaking out of these"viral reservoirs".A cure for AIDS must somehow remove every single one of the infected cells.

cure:There is no cure for AIDS or HIV infection. Although antiretroviral treatment can suppress HIV - the virus that causes AIDS - and can delay illness for many years, it cannot clear the virus completely. Sadly, this doesn't stop countless quacks and con artists touting unproven, often dangerous"AIDS cures" to desperate people.It is easy to see why an HIV positive person might want to believe in an AIDS cure. Access to antiretroviral treatment is scarce in much of the world. When someone has a life-threatening illness they may clutch at anything to stay alive. And even when antiretroviral treatment is available, it is far from an easy solution. Drugs must be taken every day for the rest of a person's life, often causing unpleasant side effects. A one-off cure to eradicate the virus once and for all is much more appealing.Distrust of Western medicine is not uncommon, especially in developing countries. The Internet abounds with rumours of the pharmaceutical industry or the U.S. government suppressing AIDS cures to protect the market for patented drugs. Many people would prefer a remedy that is"natural" or"traditional".

CONCLUSIONRemember AIDS does not discriminate caste, creed, race, religion, educational or social status. Prevention of AIDS is our joint responsibility. Education and awareness is the only weapon in our hand. Let us accept the challenge to fight against AIDS. We must support and care for the people with HIV / AIDS with compassion and understanding.HIV infected individuals need more care and supportv

Attitudes to gay men and HIVAlthough in many societies gay men and lesbians are more accepted than in the past, homophobia continues to be prominent around the world. The global AIDS epidemic has always been closely linked with attitudes towards gay men; a group that is particularly affected by HIV and AIDS. "Homophobia continues to be a major barrier to ending the global AIDS epidemic"At the beginning of the AIDS epidemic, gay men in many countries were frequently singled out for abuse as they were seen to be responsible for the spread of HIV. This view was fueled by sensational reporting in the press, which became progressively anti-gay. Headlines such as,"Alert over 'gay plague'",4 and"'Gay plague' may lead to blood ban on homosexuals"5 demonised the gay community. Groups in the USA monitoring homophobic violence reported an increase in incidents when public awareness about AIDS in America increased in the 1980s.6Homophobia continues to be a major barrier to ending the global AIDS epidemic. In many countries, Stigma and discrimination prevent men who have sex with men from accessing vital HIV prevention, treatment and care services. Tackling homophobia can help overcome this, and encourages gay men to be tested for HIV and other sexually transmitted infections.

III.He advised that HIV-positive mothers should not breast feed their babies, adding that about 23 per cent of HIV infections occur in utero and as early as the first trimester of pregnancy. Most transmissions, however, occur at the time of delivery or during the birth process.He noted that in Trinidad and Tobago"all mothers attending antenatal clinics were tested for HIV antibodies (with their consent). This being so, we have found that 8 per cent of the mothers first became aware of their HIV positivity this way. This is interesting. Once they are tested positive they are then referred to the Medical Research Centre where we assess the immunological status of the mothers (CD4 counts) and their viral loads. Depending on those levels, we then treat the mothers at a certain time in their gestation period and treatment continues during labour, after labour and onwards. In other words, we now treat both mother and child. We use the World Health Organisation's (WHO) therapeutic recommendation for mother to child transmission. To date we have treated 203 mothers and only 7 (3.4 per cent) of their babies have been infected. But even that is not good enough."We are now considering a more aggressive approach by treating the mothers with triple therapy earlier in their pregnancy although we are very concerned that since non-compliance of therapy increases with time, we may theoretically be putting the mothers at risk of developing drug resistance in time to come the earlier we begin treatment. Whether our concern is valid would only be determined in comparative long-term studies. In the meanwhile, we are aiming for a zero transmission of virus from mother to child without compromising the mother in the long-term.

II.And according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention nearly 200 infants were infected with the virus in the United States of America annually."Many of these infections involve women who were not tested early enough in pregnancy or who did not receive prevention services. Perinatal HIV transmission is the most common route of HIV infection in children and is now the source of almost all AIDS cases in children in the USA. Most of the children with AIDS are members of minority races and ethnicities."Professor Bartholomew said it's a tragedy when the mother does not know that she is HIV-infected at the time of her pregnancy as is frequently the case, but it is a felony when she knows that she is HIV infected and still becomes pregnant while neither on treatment nor without taking other precautions.He explained that the overall risk of transmission from an infected mother to her infant is around 30 percent."In the early stages of infection and in the more advanced stages with severe immuno-suppression, the viral load is greater than at other times and transmission from mother to child is therefore considerably higher during these periods. Infection may be transmitted in utero or during the delivery process (intrapartum) as the baby moves down the birth canal and is bathed with the mother's blood. Infection may also be acquired after birth (postpartum) by breast feeding."

I.HIV positive mothers are the cause for the increase of the HIV/AIDS virus in children. Pregnant women owe it to their children's health and their own to get an AIDS test.Every hour an estimated forty children die from AIDS.Last year 420,000 children were newly infected with the HIV/AIDS virus. By the end of the year 2.5 million were living with the disease. Of the 2.1 million people who died of AIDS last year, one in every seven was a child.Mother-to-child-transmission of HIV/AIDS, also called perinatal transmission, is increasing at an alarming rate. More than 60,000 babies are born worldwide each year with the HIV virus. Pregnant women are responsible for transmitting the virus to their unborn babies.The most biologically intimate association between two individuals is that of a mother and the fetus developing inside her womb. It is also one of the most tragic consequences of HIV infection in women who become pregnant and transmit that deadly virus to their unborn children, said Professor Courtenay Bartholomew, Executive Director of the Medical Research Foundation of Trinidad and Tobago.

introductionTeens often feel like nothing can hurt them. To many, their impression of HIV is nothing more than a disease that doesn't affect them. In actuality, HIV can impact the teenage population. There are so many misconceptions surrounding HIV and AIDS; myth and misunderstanding fueled by the media, by fear, and by ignorance. Let's take a look at the truth; five things every teen should know about HIV and AIDS.1. HIV Does Not DiscriminateSince the epidemic began over twenty years ago, stereotypes have surfaced as to who are HIV infected people. White gay males, drug users and prostitutes are labeled as the faces of HIV and AIDS. The fact is that anyone can get HIV, from elderly men and women living in a nursing home to teens planning their next prom. Men and women, adults and children, rich and poor, the homeless and the college professor; HIV can infect anyone who doesn't take the proper precautions.v

To the present time, 75 to 85 percent of AIDS cases reported are related to homosexual activity, promiscuous heterosexual sex and IV drug abuse. AIDS stubbornly refuses to spread into the population in general, even 20 years after its discovery, despite dire warnings to the contrary.These diseases are acquired directly through the sexual behavior homosexual activists are asking Americans to legally endorse and protect. Yet, as professor Jerome Lejeune of Descartes University, Paris, says of AIDS:"Only God can truly pardon the one who violates His laws; man pardons at times; Nature never pardons at all: She is not a person." The brutal consequences of attempting to break the natural law are not bigoted or hateful, nor are those, like Dr. Laura, Cal Thomas or Gary Morella, who try to point out the dangers and simple truths.We are seeing the natural consequences of violating nature's laws now. They are also a warning to prevent the ultimate eternal consequences. How many will ignore that warning and continue to call the messenger a bigot and continue to shake their fist at God? How many will heed that warning of a loving Father, ready to forgive and reconcile His prodigal children?

An exhaustive study in The New England Journal of Medicine, medical literature's only study reporting on homosexuals who kept sexual"diaries," indicated the average homosexual ingests the fecal material of 23 different men each year. The same study indicated the number of annual sexual partners averaged nearly 100. Homosexuals averaged, per year, fellating 106 different men and swallowing 50 of their seminal ejaculations, and 72 penile penetrations of the anus. (Corey, L, and Holmes, K.K.,"Sexual Transmission of Hepatitis A in Homosexual Men," New England Journal of Medicine, 1980, vol 302: 435-438; as quoted in"Homosexuality and Civil Rights," Tony Marco, 1992).A study by McKusick, et al., of 655 San Francisco homosexuals reported that only 24 percent of the sample claimed to have been"monogamous" during the past year, and of this 24 percent, 5 percent drank urine, 7 percent engag-ed in sex involving insertion of a fist in their rectums, 33 percent ingested feces, 53 percent swallowed semen and 59 percent received semen in their rectums in the month just previous to the survey ("AIDS and Sexual Behavior Reported by Homosexual Men in San Francisco," American Journal of Public Health, December 1985, 75: 493-496; quoted in"Homosexuality and Civil Rights," Tony Marco, 1992).Lesbians show similar patterns of high venereal disease incidence relative to the general population. They are 19 times more likely to have had syphilis, twice as likely to have had genital warts, four times as likely to have had scabies, seven times more likely to have had infection from vaginal contact, 29 times more likely to have had oral infection from vaginal contact and 12 times more likely to have had an oral infection from penile contact ("Medical Aspects of Homosexuality," Institute for the Scientific Investigation of Sexuality, 1985, Jaffe and Keewhan, et al.; quoted in"Homosexuality and Civil%2

A.parental warning: The following"My View" contains graphic medical terminology about sexual activities that may not be suitable for younger readers.In her May 12"My View," Mina Yindra makes many errors, but I would like to correct her statements regarding AIDS and"bigotry."Promiscuous heterosexual sex carries with it a much higher risk for AIDS, primarily because of the sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) associated with it, causing a breakdown in the natural barriers of both male and female reproductive tracts. AIDS is primarily concentrated among heterosexuals in Africa because of the high rate of female genital mutilation, leading to much higher than average rates of anal and oral intercourse, and culturally-accepted extramarital sexual activity, including widespread prostitution. Rates of STDs are quite high in these populations.However, AIDS is by far most common among the homosexual population in the United States, primarily because the type and frequency of sexual contact, combined with STDs, is the perfect method of spreading a body-fluid borne virus.Public health records demonstrate that homosexuals, representing 2 percent of America's population, suffer vastly disproportionate percentages of several of America's most serious STDs, with incidences among homosexuals of diseases like gonorrhea, syphilis, hepatitis A and B, cytomegalovirus, shigellosis, giardiasis, amoebic bowel disease and herpes far exceeding their presence in the general population. These are due to common homosexual practices that include fellatio, anilingus, digital stimulation of the rectum and ingestion of urine and feces.