World AIDS Day 2024: Take the rights path to end inequalities and combat HIV/AIDS

December 1 is World AIDS Day

By Dr. Kiran Kumre

World AIDS Day is celebrated around the world on December 1st each year. The theme for World AIDS Day 2024 is “Take the rights path: My health, my right!”. This theme calls on citizens and global leaders to address the inequalities that prevent progress in ending AIDS.

HIV stands for human immunodeficiency virus. HIV harms our immune system by destroying a type of white blood cell that helps our body fight infection. This puts us at risk for other infections and diseases. AIDS stands for acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. It is the final stage of infection with HIV. It happens when the body’s immune system is badly damaged because of the virus.

Spread of AIDS– It can spread through following ways-

• By having unprotected vaginal or anal sex with a person who has HIV. “Unprotected” means not using condoms or medicine to treat or prevent HIV. This is the most common way that it spreads.
• By sharing drug needles.
• Through contact with the blood of a person with HIV.
• From mother to baby during pregnancy,childbirth, or breastfeeding.

Symptoms– The first signs of HIV infection may be flu-like symptoms like fever, chills, rash, night sweats (heavy sweating during sleep), muscle aches, sore throat, fatigue, swollen lymph nodes, mouth ulcers. These symptoms may come and go within two to four weeks. This stage is called acute HIV infection.

Course– If the infection is not treated, it becomes chronic HIV infection. Often, there are no symptoms during this stage. But if it is not treated, eventually the virus will weaken our body’s immune system. Then the infection will progress to AIDS. This is the late stage of HIV infection. Because our immune system is badly damaged, our body cannot fight off other infections.

Diagnosis & Treatment -HIV can be diagnosed by doing simple blood test of HIV and can be treated through Antiretroviral Therapy (ART). ART can make HIV infection a manageable chronic condition. It also reduces the risk of spreading the virus to others.

Apart from ART, well nourished diet, family and friends’ support and psychological support is also needed to lead a healthy life.t

Prevention – It can be prevented by getting tested for HIV, choosing less risky sexual behaviour, getting tested and treated for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and not injecting drugs.

Health care provider can also guide about medicines to prevent HIV:

• PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) is for people who don’t already have HIV but are at very high risk of getting it. PrEP is daily medicine that can reduce this risk.
• PEP (post-exposure prophylaxis) is for people who have possibly been exposed to HIV. It is only for emergency situations. PEP must be started within 72 hours after a possible exposure to HIV.

(Author is Specialist, Dermatology, Tata Main Hospital, Jamshedpur.)