The effects of acquired immune deficiency syndrome, or AIDS, are detrimental not only for the individual, but also for society as a whole. AIDS is a life-threatening disease that damages the body's immune system. It is caused by the human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV. People infected with HIV may be asymptomatic for years prior to manifesting the illness. In the later stages, HIV can transition into AIDS. But not everyone with HIV develops AIDS. In spite of increased patient education and improved medication, AIDS remains a leading cause of death in the United States.
Health
Physicians typically deem HIV as having transitioned into AIDS when a patient's thymus cell, or T-cell, count is 200 or lower. T-cells are white blood cells that determine how the body responds to an immune system attack. Once diagnosed with HIV, the average patient has a life expectancy of 24 years. By the time HIV has progressed into AIDS, the body's immune system has been ravaged. Patients who die from AIDS actually succumb to one of the many infections that the body is unable to fight. Symptoms include fatigue, fever, swollen lymph nodes, chronic diarrhea, weight loss, night sweats, difficulty walking, blurred vision and unusual lesions on the body. People with AIDS are also at higher risk of developing cancer.
Financial
In the United States, physicians diagnose more than 56,000 new cases of HIV each year. Advances in AIDS and HIV research have produced more effective medication that has greatly increased the life expectancy for people living with the disease. As of 2006, the average lifetime cost of AIDS/HIV treatment in the United States is $618,000. In the November 2006 issue of "Medical Care," Dr. Bruce Schackman wrote that the majority of that figure is due to the cost of antiretroviral medication. Dr. Schackman is an associate professor of public health at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City.
Societal
The societal effects of AIDS are devastating. In 1995, AIDS was the number one cause of death for Americans ages 25 to 44. Even with improved medications and patient education, as of 2010 it was still the sixth leading cause of death for that age group. According to the World Health Organization, over 25 million people have died from AIDS. AIDS typically kills people during their prime child-rearing years. Over 15 million children worldwide have been left orphaned by the disease. In an October 2007 article published for the Public Library of Science Medicine, Dr. Peter Piot wrote that in Africa, AIDS may be responsible for fueling greater gender inequality. Dr. Piot is executive director of the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS.
References
- "Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes"; The Economic Burden of HIV in the United States in the Era of Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy; Angela Hutchinson, Ph.D., M.P.H; December 2006
- Medline Plus: AIDS
- "Public Library of Science Medicine"; Squaring the Circle: AIDS, Poverty, and Human Development; Peter Piot, M.D., Ph.D.; October 2007
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: HIV Prevention in the United States at a Critical Crossroads
- "Medical Care"; Bruce R. Schackman, Ph.D.; The lifetime Cost of Current Human Immunodeficiency Virus Care in the United States; November 2006
