African Traditional Herbal Research Clinic STD's ... - Blackherbals.com
African Traditional Herbal Research Clinic STD's ... - Blackherbals.com
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Continued from page 47 – Tanzania: Aids at 30 - What Does<br />
the Future Hold for Us<br />
to uninterrupted access to lifesaving medicines and<br />
supportive care, a HIV positive pregnant woman lives<br />
long enough to see her newborn live to adulthood and<br />
Aids orphans grow up to be<strong>com</strong>e responsible members of<br />
the society, the fight against Aids in Africa remains a<br />
matter of life and death.<br />
The future of Africa may depend on the bold moves it<br />
makes today to wage a fight to the finish against Aids.<br />
The fight against Aids in Africa will be won one family,<br />
one neighbourhood and one <strong>com</strong>munity at a time, led by<br />
dedicated teams of <strong>African</strong>s refusing to back down<br />
against tremendous odds and difficulties.<br />
The author is the former chairman of the Technical Advisory<br />
Board of the Africa Center for Health and Human Security at<br />
the George Washington University, Washington, DC.<br />
http://allafrica.<strong>com</strong>/stories/201107110335.html<br />
☻☻☻☻☻☻<br />
Nigeria: HIV/Aids - If You're<br />
Not Infected, You're Affected<br />
By Sola Ogundipe and Chioma Obinna<br />
4 December 2010<br />
Analysis<br />
If mankind was asked to name the most troubling viral<br />
disorder of all time, the acronym "HIV & AIDS" is most<br />
likely to be repeatedly mentioned. HIV (Human<br />
Immunodeficiency Virus) is the name of the virus that<br />
results in AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency<br />
Syndrome) which describes the collection of symptoms<br />
caused by HIV after it destroys a person's immune<br />
system.<br />
The HIV & AIDS epidemic was once described as man's<br />
nemesis because of its long "dormant" period that allows<br />
hosts to infect others with the virus without being<br />
immediately detected by either person. This factor alone<br />
makes this disorder nearly impossible to control.<br />
HIV is spread through sexual contact and blood. As a<br />
result, people can pass on HIV long before they notice<br />
symptoms, which is why AIDS remains a pervasive<br />
disease around the world.<br />
AIDS may not be the most deadly of disorders man has<br />
encountered, however, the level of decimation,<br />
deprivation and despair that <strong>com</strong>es with the disorder is<br />
almost beyond measure. Although preventable, AIDS is<br />
incurable.<br />
No one is safe from its onslaught. If one is not infected,<br />
-48- <strong>Traditional</strong> <strong>African</strong> <strong>Clinic</strong> October 2011<br />
one could be affected. A person can be infected with<br />
HIV, but not have AIDS. The virus typically takes around<br />
10 years to destroy the immune system. Afterwards,<br />
people die from AIDS, usually a mild infection that turns<br />
deadly.<br />
Unfortunately, the virus load (the amount of infectious<br />
HIV active in the system) is highest early on, when the<br />
patient is symptom free.<br />
To make matters worse, conspiracy theories claiming the<br />
virus is an engineered attempt to inflict genocide upon<br />
<strong>African</strong>s, has led some leaders on the continent to claim<br />
AIDS as myth. As a result, the general population<br />
distrusts western healthcare providers and avoids<br />
medications that could slow its spread. In the end,<br />
widespread ignorance and fear can prescribe all kinds of<br />
bizarre treatments and lead to the continued spread of<br />
HIV.<br />
Unfortunately for Nigeria and most of Africa, virgin<br />
cures and other misconceptions (like the "not me"<br />
syndrome) contribute to the newly diagnosed cases of<br />
HIV infection reported each day.<br />
When first identified as a disease, it was known as GRID<br />
(Gay-Related Immune Deficiency). This term described<br />
the mysterious cluster of symptoms first identified in gay<br />
men in 1981. Today in Nigeria, many people still believe<br />
that if HIV doesn't kill them, then HIV-related<br />
<strong>com</strong>plications will. But this is not true. Managing<br />
<strong>com</strong>plications from HIV is a far cry from what it was in<br />
the past.<br />
However, scientists say the immune system may never<br />
fully recover from damage after HIV infection. This<br />
be<strong>com</strong>es more apparent as people with HIV reach their<br />
50s. Severe weakening of the immune system can also<br />
lead to opportunistic infections.<br />
HIV - a retrovirus<br />
HIV belongs to a class of viruses called retroviruses .<br />
Retroviruses are RNA (ribonucleic acid) viruses, and in<br />
order to replicate (duplicate). they must make a DNA<br />
(deoxyribonucleic acid) copy of their RNA. It is the DNA<br />
genes that allow the virus to replicate. Like all viruses,<br />
HIV can replicate only inside cells, <strong>com</strong>mandeering the<br />
cell's machinery to reproduce.<br />
Only HIV and other retroviruses, however, once inside a<br />
cell, use an enzyme called reverse transcriptase to convert<br />
their RNA into DNA, which can be incorporated into the<br />
host cell's genes.<br />
HIV belongs to a subgroup of retroviruses known as<br />
lentiviruses, or "slow" viruses. The course of infection<br />
with these viruses is characterised by a long interval<br />
Continued on page 49