INFECTIOUS DISEASES

Infectious Diseases Rachel Lowe University of Phoenix - Axia August 16, 2011

INFECTIOUS DISEASES Infectious Diseases There are many different types of infectious diseases, some are treatable and some unfortunately still untreatable. There is no cure for these diseases even though they have been researched for years, these untreatable diseases include but are not limited to cancer, and one of

the most deadly diseases Aids and HIV. Having HIV does not mean that the person also has the Aids virus; it means that they have the virus that causes Aids. However if a person has Aids than they also have HIV sense HIV is the virus that causes Aids to set in. There have been over 980,000 cases of Aids reported in the United States since 1981 (Center for Disease control, 2009). HIV and AIDs are not the same disease; HIV stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus and can be caught on contact. HIV can turn into the AIDS virus though it takes time which can vary in length from a couple of months to years. AIDS stands for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome this means that once the HIV virus starts attacking the immune system and breaks down the necessary cells that keep the body healthy, than AIDS sets in. If however HIV is detected early and medical treatment is established it is possible for the patient to survive with the HIV virus for years. There are medications that can be taken to boost the immune system and help fight back the virus to prevent the onset of AIDS. This virus is spread through the physical transmission of bodily fluids. Transmission of this virus can range in form. The transmission of bodily fluids sounds complex however it can occur with the simplest of acts such as kissing. Other bodily fluids include the transmission of blood, breast milk, seminal fluids, and saliva. It was once believed that only Homosexuals could contract this disease, however this was soon found to be nothing but a myth. Now after years of research it is known that everyone is susceptible to this virus. Some people toke the stance that

INFECTIOUS DISEASES only people of a questionable nature would get this disease, by their wild life styles such as sex and drugs. This is not true, women who are pregnant can pass this disease on to their unborn

child, injured patients that require blood transfusions can catch this disease and medical workers are highly susceptible to this as well. This disease primarily attacks the immune system once this happens the immune system is working double and triple time to keep producing fighter cells that try to fight back the disease. The disease keeps fighting the body and eventually the body will be unable to keep producing enough cells to fight off the infections. This virus attacks the CD4 cell and the T helper cells; these are the cells that work to keep the immune system up and operating. The entire time to bodys immune system is working overtime to create more and more cells the virus is fighting back and reproducing at the same time, it is a losing internal battle. Eventually the body will be unable to indemnify between the virus and its own cells and will start to kill off the cells that the body is working so hard to produce. When this occurs the body will become susceptible to more infections and diseases, this entire process is what takes place for the HIV virus to transform into AIDS. There are treatments that can ward off the AIDS virus but there is no cure for either AIDS or HIV. One treatment that was not designed to cure the disease but to keep it under control is antiretroviral medications; these medications have been able to hold off the onset of AIDS. After 30 years of research there is still no cure but with the help of these medications patients are able to survive the disease. There are ways for people to protect themselves against this disease that is killing millions of people. First if working in a medical setting make sure to take every precaution when dealing with patients. Treat every patient as if they were already infected; for example, wear the

INFECTIOUS DISEASES protective gear that is available to the worker. Wear gloves, goggles, and face shields when dealing with bodily fluids, be cautious when working with needles, so that the worker doesnt stick themselves with the needle after sticking a patient. For people working outside of the medical field, do not have unprotected sex, dont have multiple partners, and dont use

intravenous drugs, or share needles. These are the leading causes of this disease spreading, make sure to have blood work done at least once a year to ensure that if the disease is present it is caught immediately. If already infected take the precautions that are necessary to keep this disease from spreading to other unsuspecting people.

INFECTIOUS DISEASES References Valerius, J., Bayes, N., Newby, C., Seggern, J., (2008). Medical Insurance (3rd ed.). New York, NY: McGraw Aids.gov (2009). Overview. Retrieved April 2, 2009 from http://aids.gov/basic/index.htmlw Hill.