HIV_-_AIDS

“ I call upon every American to join in the effort to fight the spread of HIV and to treat those living with HIV with dignity and respect. We all hope and pray for the day when we discover a cure and a preventive vaccine. Until that day -- which I know will come -- we all must work together, strengthen our resolve to marshal the resources necessary to end the epidemic, and increase our compassion for those who need our help in their struggle against HIV disease. ”

“ In every city, town, and community, we have lost sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers, life partners and friends. HIV and AIDS have affected us all, regardless of income, region, gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, or age. Sadly, both the number of people living with AIDS and the number of new HIV infections is rising worldwide. This year, as we observe the tenth World AIDS Day, we recognize with particular concern the toll HIV and AIDS continue to take on our children and youth. ”

“ AIDS and HIV disease have cut short the lives of many Americans who had so much to contribute. They have plagued our sons and daughters, our mothers and fathers, our brothers and sisters, and our friends and co-workers. The devastating effects of AIDS have touched all of us. ”

“ AIDS afflicts thousands of Americans, and an unknown number are infected with HIV without showing any symptoms. The deadly virus is most commonly spread through sexual contact with an infected person, especially through homosexual practices; through intravenous drug use with contaminated needles; and through other transmissions of infected blood. Our country's huge and vital public health task of AIDS prevention and treatment is underway. Massive public and private efforts have already led to definite advances in research and treatment. ”

“ HIV destroys the immune system and attacks the central nervous system, leading to devastating physical consequences and then to death. Because the virus has a long incubation period and the progress of the disease varies sharply from individual to individual, people can unwittingly carry and spread it for years. ”

“ Women who are infected with the human immuno-deficiency (HIV) virus can transmit the virus to their infants during pregnancy or at birth. Currently, about 84 percent of the AIDS cases in children result from perinatal transmission. The outlook for HIV-infected babies is grim. Almost half of these children develop AIDS in their first year, and nearly 70 percent develop AIDS by the end of their second year. ”

“ HIV/AIDS and VL are locked in a vicious circle of mutual reinforcement. VL accelerates the onset of AIDS by infecting macrophages throughout the reticuloendothelial system, rendering the body more susceptible by stimulating replication of the virus. ”

“ We are heartened by our success in reducing the risk of perinatal transmission of HIV from mother to child. For the first time since this epidemic began in 1981, we have seen an actual reduction in the number of infants born with HIV. It is within our grasp to virtually eradicate pediatric HIV disease by the end of this century. Our efforts to prevent other types of HIV transmission are also showing signs of progress. ”

“ Specifically, we know now that an estimated 56,000 Americans are infected with HIV every year. These new figures should bring new focus to our efforts to address AIDS and HIV here at home. Reports like this not only rouse our collective conscience – they provide us with a real opportunity to understand the challenge before us. ”

“ Explanation.—For the purpose of this section, strategies for reducing risk of HIV transmission means promoting actions or practices that minimise a person’s risk of exposure to HIV or mitigate the adverse impacts related to HIV or AIDS including—
(i) the provisions of information, education and counselling services relating to prevention of HIV and safe practices; (ii) the provisions and use of safer sex tools, including condoms; (iii) drug substitution and drug maintenance; and (iv) provision of comprehensive injection safety requirements. ”

“ Second, GRG status should accurately predict an increased risk of developing or progressing rapidly to AIDS when the laboratory markers may fail to do so. Third, the AIDS risk conveyed by the laboratory and genetic markers together, namely the CD4+ T cell count plus viral load plus GRG status, should exceed that conveyed by the two laboratory markers, especially during the early stages of infection when subjects have high CD4+ T cell counts. ”

“ We also wanted to express our gratitude for all you are doing to increase awareness about HIV and AIDS here in the U.S.
The HIV/AIDS epidemic is a global challnege – but our efforts to stop it must begin here at home. ”

“ Our evaluation of the medical evidence leads us to conclude that respondent's infection substantially limited her ability to reproduce in two independent ways. First, a woman infected with HIV who tries to conceive a child imposes on the man a significant risk of becoming infected. The cumulative results of 13 studies collected in a 1994 textbook on AIDS indicates that 20% of male partners of women with HIV became HIV-positive themselves, with a majority of the studies finding a statistically significant risk of infection. ”

“ With an infection occurring every nine-and-a-half minutes in America, there are more than one million individuals estimated to be living with the disease in our country. Of those currently infected, one in five does not know they have the condition, and the majority of new infections are spread by people who are unaware of their own status. HIV/AIDS does not discriminate as it infiltrates neighborhoods and communities. Americans of any gender, age, ethnicity, income, or sexual orientation can and are contracting the disease. ”

“ We can take heart that many people with HIV/AIDS today are living longer and more fulfilling lives and that new drugs are showing promising results in halting the progression of the disease. However, AIDS has exposed the tremendous gulf that exits between those who share in the prosperity of our global economy and those who do not. ”

“ Extensive efforts by Government and the private sector are underway in the fight against AIDS and HIV infection, and great strides have been made. In the 7 years since the first reports of AIDS cases, the virus has been identified; the ways in which it is spread have been pinpointed; an AIDS antibody screening test has been developed and is being used to protect blood supplies ”

“ These findings also have value for improving our understanding of the factors that influence HIV-AIDS pathogenesis and for the interpretation of genotype-phenotype association studies in general. The ability of the GRGs to provide an additive measure of AIDS risk, including in those with high CD4 cell counts, suggests that the impact of these host factors during chronic infection is partly through viral load-independent mechanisms that are likely operative in the proximal end of the causal pathways that affect CD4 cell loss and establishment of the steady-state viral load. ”

“ New treatments, approved in record time, are showing remarkable results in arresting the development of HIV disease and are beginning to improve the health of those who are living with the virus. We have worked hard to provide access to these promising treatments for as many people as possible. ”

“ The median survival time from diagnosis is 38 months, and it is only 6 months for babies who are diagnosed with AIDS in their first year of life. Moreover, a disproportionate number of HIV-infected mothers are black or Hispanic, poor, or residents of the inner city; many of them will not survive to care for their babies. ”

“ We will develop a strategy to reduce HIV incidence, improve access to care, and help eliminate HIV-related health disparities. We have already ensured that visitors to our shores living with HIV are not marginalized and discriminated against because of their HIV status. We have also secured the continuation of critical HIV/AIDS care and treatment services. Today, we recommit ourselves to building on the accomplishments of the past decades that have dramatically changed the domestic and global HIV/AIDS landscape. ”

“ The effects of infection by HIV are different in children than in adults. Infected infants get sicker faster, their immune systems may deteriorate more rapidly, and treatments that are helpful to adults may not be helpful for children. ”

“ Such programs and research have helped to slow the spread of HIV and AIDS and have made possible the production of new drugs that are extending the lives of people with HIV and AIDS here at home and around the world. ”

“ PEPFAR's ABC approach—abstinence, being faithful, and using condoms—with abstinence as the only sure way to avoid the sexual transmission of HIV/AIDS, is helping stop the spread of this devastating disease. ”

“ HIV/AIDS is a global health crisis and a constant struggle for many of our families, friends, and neighbors. On World AIDS Day, we underscore our commitment to fight the AIDS pandemic with compassion and decisive action. ”

“ We remain deeply committed to supporting adolescent girls and young women through this program, who are up to 14 times more likely to contract HIV than young men in some sub-Saharan African countries. ”

“ Migration of labourers to and from endemic areas, climatic and environmental changes, and impaired immunity due to HIV/AIDS and malnutrition resulted in the change of VL epidemiology. HIV spurs the spread of VL by increasing the risk of progression from asymptomatic infection towards full VL. Conversely, VL accelerates the onset of AIDS. In Ethiopia, VL epidemiology remains complex because of the diversity of risk factors involved, and its control is becoming an increasing challenge. ”