HIV AND AIDS CEUS
7 Hours/CEU’s
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1. Differentiate between HIV and AIDS
2. Identify causes
3. Learn epidemiology
4. Learn the historical framework related to the development of
HIV/AIDS
5. Become familiar with the impact HIV/AIDS on culture
6. Identify and recognize common stigmas associated with HIV/AIDS
7. Increase familiarity with the relationship between HIV/AIDS and
mental health
8. Increase familiarity with the relationship between HIV/AIDS and
substance abuse
9. Develop the ability to identify the characteristics and method of
assessment and treatment of people who live with HIV/AIDS.
Table of Contents:
1. Definitions
2. Causes
3. Epidemiology
4. History
5. Stigma
6. HIV/AIDS and Mental Health
7. HIV/AIDS and Substance Abuse
8. Cognitive Disorders9. Summary
10. References
1. Definitions
Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a lentivirus (a member of the
retrovirus family) that can lead to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome
(AIDS), a condition in humans in which the immune system begins to fail,
leading to life-threatening opportunistic infections. Previous names for the
virus include human T-lymphotropic virus-III (HTLV-III),
lymphadenopathy-associated virus (LAV), and AIDS-associated retrovirus
(ARV). Infection with HIV occurs by the transfer of blood, semen, vaginal
fluid, pre-ejaculate, or breast milk. Within these bodily fluids, HIV is present
as both free virus particles and virus within infected immune cells. The four
major routes of transmission are unprotected sexual intercourse,
contaminated needles, breast milk, and transmission from an infected mother
to her baby at birth (Vertical transmission). Screening of blood products for
HIV has largely eliminated transmission through blood transfusions or
infected blood products in the developed world (Appay V, Sauce D, January
2008. "Immune activation and inflammation in HIV-1 infection: causes and
consequences". J. Pathol).HIV infection in humans is now pandemic. As
of January 2006, the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and the
World Health Organization (WHO) estimate that AIDS has killed more than 25 million people
since it was first recognized on December 1, 1981. It is estimated that about 0.6 percent of the world's population is infected with HIV. In 2005 alone, AIDS claimed an estimated 2.4–3.3
million lives, of which more than 570,000 were children. A third of these deaths are occurring in sub-Saharan Africa, retarding economic growth
and increasing poverty. According to current estimates, HIV is set to infect 90 million people in Africa, resulting in a minimum estimate of 18 million orphans.
Antiretroviral treatment reduces both the mortality and the morbidity of HIV
infection, but routine access to antiretroviral medication is not available in
all countries. HIV primarily infects vital cells in the human immune system
such as helper T cells (specifically CD4+ T cells), macrophages, and
Human immunodeficiency virus Scanning electron micrograph of HIV-1 (in green) budding
from cultured lymphocyte. Multiple round bumps on cell surface represent sites of
assembly and budding of virions.
