HIV Aids The Growing Menace

CEBU, Philippines – In the light of the recent holidays which continue until the upcoming Sinulog festival, it is important to bring up - once again - the issue of HIV/AIDS. What's the connection? Well, as we know, festive celebrations go with revelry and partying, events that often bring about a certain frenzy that make people, young people especially, throw their cares away.

December 1 was World AIDS Day, and has been observed yearly since 1988. Government and health officials, non-governmental organizations and individuals around the world observed the day, with advocacy on AIDS prevention and control.

World AIDS Day is dedicated to raising consciousness of the AIDS pandemic caused by the increase of HIV infection, and mourning those who have died of the disease.

In the Philippines, a young woman put a face to AIDS in the 1990s. The second Filipino to go public with her HIV infection after Dolzura Cortez, then 19-year-old Sarah Jane was introduced in a press conference in 1994 at the Department of Health in Manila. She became a banner girl for advocating HIV prevention. In June 2000, Sarah Jane died of complications from AIDS.

HIV and AIDS defined. HIV stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus. It is a retrovirus that causes HIV infection. When it is in the body, it lowers the immunity (body defense system) or the ability to fight off any kind of disease. HIV Infection is the successful entry of HIV in the human host, failing the immune system and leading to a variety of diseases.

AIDS stands for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. It is a condition characterized by a combination of signs and symptoms, caused by HIV which attacks and weakens the body's immune system, making the afflicted individual highly susceptible to other life threatening infection.

How does HIV attack the immune system? The human body is protected by the white blood cells in the immune system. White blood cells fight disease and germs in defense of the body. When diseases enter the body, the white blood cells go to work to topple them and are often able to do so. HIV is a very strong germ that attacks the white blood cells, weakening the body's defenses against diseases and makes the body susceptible to potentially life-threatening infections and cancers. HIV then uses human cells to manufacture more of the virus, eventually killing the host and nearby cells, and then overpower the immune system.

After a very long struggle, lasting for years, HIV kills most of the immune system's white blood cells, leaving the body defenseless. Many other (secondary) diseases attack (bringing about the condition of AIDS) and eventually kill the body.

In Cebu, at least 1,352 cases OF HIV/AIDS have been recorded from July 1995 to July 2014, according to the AIDS-Free Philippines. There is no cure yet for HIV that leads to AIDS and there's also no vaccine to prevent infection. All there is so far is a medication that can only slow the progression of the infection.

(Sources: UNAIDS Fast Facts and Department of Health)