Infectious Diseases and Rare Diseases

HIV Prevention, Treatment & Cure

HIV/AIDS still remains one of the most critical health challenges in the face of the world. According to reports around 36.7 million people are living with HIV and an estimated 1.8 million new infections are recorded in year 2016. Million lives are lost annually due to AIDS related illness. Although there is still no cure for AIDS necessary steps can be taken to prevent HIV infection. There are certain treatments which can effectively slow down the growth of HIV virus in human body leading to a normal life expectancy. There are some certain ways through which HIV can spread from one person to another such as blood, semen, pre-seminal fluids, rectal fluids, vaginal fluids and breast milk. HIV transmission is only possible if these fluids come in contact with the mucous membrane or damaged tissue or are directly injected into the bloodstream. HIV can also transmit from a mother to her child during the time of pregnancy, childbirth or breastfeeding. Earlier, there were some cases of HIV transmission during organ or tissue transplant from a HIV infected person. HIV treatment involves taking medicines that are called antiretrovirals also known as ARV. These are always given in combination with other antiretrovirals. The therapy involved is called antiretroviral therapy also named as ART. Using ART drugs has significantly reduced the number of deaths related to AIDS.