HIV-Aids moves stealthily

HIV infection rates are decreasing in several countries but the number of people living with HIV continues to rise, according to a United Nations report released in advance of World Aids Day, marked worldwide on the first of December. "We are encouraged by the gains that have been made in some countries and by the fact that sustained HIV prevention programs have played a key part in bringing down infections," said Dr. Peter Piot, executive director of the Joint United Nations Program on HIV-Aids (UNAids). "But the reality is that the AIDS epidemic continues to outstrip global and national efforts to contain it." In Asia, infection levels are still low: 0.4 percent in adult population. "But with Asia accounting for 60 percent of the world's population, figures are more significant than a single low rate," says Dr Bernard Fabre-Teste, an advisor with the sexually transmitted infection unit of the regional office of the World Health Organization (WHO) in Manila. In the Philippines, the first AIDS case reported was in 1984. Since then, almost 2,500 have been recorded by the National Epidemiology Center of the Department of Health (DOH). The figure, however, is just the "tip of the iceberg." "We may have smaller incidence of HIV-Aids compared with Asian countries, but this does not mean we have to be complacent. We cannot completely eradicate it, but at least we must limit its spread," said DOH head Dr. Francisco T. Duque III in a recent forum. The term Aids--Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome--applies to the most advanced stages of HIV infection. It is, according to the US-based Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAid), caused by HIV (discovered by Dr. Luc Montagnier and his colleagues at the Pasteur Institute in France in 1983). Outside the human body, HIV -- human immunodeficiency virus -- is relatively fragile and can be easily killed by household disinfectants. Once inside the body, there is no way a person can eliminate the virus. HIV progressively weakens the body's immune defense system, until it is no longer able to fight off infections, many of which are normally harmless. When the immune system is severely damaged by HIV, several opportunistic infections are present at once. Opportunistic infections common in people with Aids cause symptoms such as: coughing and shortness of breath, seizures and lack of coordination, difficult or painful swallowing, mental symptoms such as confusion and forgetfulness, severe and persistent diarrhea, vision loss, nausea, abdominal cramps, vomiting, weight loss, extreme fatigue, severe headaches, and coma. Among the indicator diseases affecting people with HIV include tuberculosis, Kaposi's sarcoma (a tumor primarily affecting the skin), pneumonia, herpes, shingles and weight loss. "Death is not caused directly by HIV, but by one or more infections," says Dr. Dominic Garcia, an infectious disease specialist at the Gat Andres Medical Hospital. How does HIV work? The AIDS Information Unit of the health department explains: "When HIV enters your body, your body tries to kill the virus by creating chemicals called 'anti-bodies.' This process -- from the moment you are infected until the moment antibodies appear in your blood -- takes an average of six weeks but may take as long as one year." The DOH information sheet said HIV antibodies do not kill the Aids virus. The antibodies and HIV remain in the bloodstream of a person until the rest of his or her life. Only a special blood test can detect whether a person is HIV-infected or HIV-positive. Medical scientists consider HIV as a retrovirus, which means it is a slow virus. "Unlike flu, when you get it today, you might already present symptoms the following day. With HIV, you can be without symptoms for several years. Possibly as short as three years or as long as 12 years," explains the Health Action Information Network (Hain). Currently, there are three classes of drugs available to treat HIV infection: nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors, non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors, and protease inhibitors. "HIV usually develops resistance to any of these drugs when they are used alone," warns the Merck manual. "Resistance can develop after a few days to several months of use, depending on the drug and the person." Prevention is still the best way to stop the spread of HIV/Aids. And preventing Aids, according to the Department of Health (DOH), is as easy as ABC. Actually, ABC stands for "abstinence," "be faithful," and "condom use." Abstinence or no sex is a difficult but possible option for many people, especially young people. "Abstain from having sex," the health department recommends. "Wait for the right partner that can make your heart beat fast and ready to put you in a comfortable and healthy life." For married people, the DOH urges couples to "be faithful." Edwina Currie, in an article which appeared in 'The Observer,' once told a group: "My message to the businessman of this country when they go abroad on business is that there is one thing above all they can take with them to stop them from catching Aids, and that is the wife." But for those who can abstain from having sex or being faithful to their partners, DOH suggests condom. "Protection is still the best defense against this disease," says Dr. Cyrus Trocio of the Department of Health in Davao City. "Use a latex condom for each act of intercourse with an infected partner or a partner whose HIV status is unknown," recommends The Merck Manual of Medical Information. But let me remind you, "Condoms aren't completely safe," says Bob Rubin. "A friend of mine was wearing one and got hit by a bus." Of course, he was joking!