7,000 people are infected with HIV every day in the world. In Poland, every day 2 people find out that they have the virus. If it weren't for the hippie call for "free love," maybe the HIV virus, which causes AIDS, wouldn't have spread to such an extent?

It is paradoxical that the flagship slogan of flower children "Make love not war" has turned against us. But the facts speak for themselves. In 1970, the first gay parade was held in New York. In 1973, America officially declared homosexuality "no longer a disease." And in 1981, an American medical journal reported on a mysterious new disease that hit homosexuals.

The strange thing was that it was not actually one disease, but various infections that had an extremely turbulent course leading to death in these people. It seemed to be the result of a sudden weakening of the immune system.

Since the set of symptoms and conditions that tend to occur at the same time is called a syndrome, the disease was called AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome). Two years later, the virus that caused the infection was isolated and named HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus).

During the first years, HIV spread rapidly, mainly among gays in the US and Western Europe. The epidemic was at its peak in the early 1990s, which was a period of great powerlessness against the virus and the first high-profile victims of AIDS like Freddie Mercury (died 1991).

For fear of a fatal disease, there has been a return to slogans of sexual fidelity alien to the "free man", condoms, disposable needles and syringes have become widely used. As a result, the dynamics of infections in the world decreased, but only for a short time. After 2000, the epidemic broke out with redoubled force.

Dangerous expansion of HIV

Since the detection of the first case of HIV in Poland in 1985, 12 thousand people have been recorded. infections. But this number can be two or three times greater. For comparison: there are now 40 million people living with HIV in the world, the Iron Curtain was the guardian of the virus.

And when the borders opened, we already knew a lot about him. Thanks to this, we were able to reduce the extent of the epidemic among drug addicts who posed the greatest threat. However, the number of infections in Poland continuesgrows.

This is favored by the opening of borders. While Sub-Saharan Africa and the Caribbean are still the leaders in new infections (in some countries more than 40% of people live with HIV), the virus is also spreading rapidly in the former Soviet Union. About 1.5 million people with HIV live in the Russian Federation (this number is known, and they constitute only 20% of carriers), including in the Moscow agglomeration itself - 500 thousand, in Ukraine - 500 thousand.

Orsk in the foothills of the Urals is the Russian capital of HIV. Proportionally to the number of inhabitants, it is the most infected there - as much as 3.5 percent. The most dramatic situation is in the entire Urals and West Siberia.

As a result of the massive migration of people from Africa and the former USSR to the West (in 2006 alone, 40 million emigrants officially settled in EU countries), the number of infections in Western Europe has also increased (in the last 8 years it has almost doubled - despite large expenditure on educational programs among young people)

In Poland, the alarming situation is in the Dolnośląskie Voivodeship (the effect of cross-border prostitution and access to drugs, which are mainly used intravenously) and the Warmińsko-Mazurskie Voivodeship (the vicinity of Kaliningrad, where the infection rates are as high as in subtropical African countries).

What is HIV testing like?

Important

You won't get infected:

Daily contacts with an infected person do not pose a threat.

  • You can stay with an infected person in one room (the virus does not spread through droplets, so you cannot get infected if someone sneezes or coughs).
  • You won't get infected by using the same glass, by shaking hands, hugging or kissing.
  • You can touch common equipment, e.g. door handles, headphones, borrow clothes.
  • It is also safe to swim in the pool, use the bathroom.
  • HIV is not transmitted by mosquitoes or other insects.

Infidelity favors HIV

Initially, HIV was associated with homosexuality and drug addiction. Until the end of the 1990s, drug addicts using injections of psychoactive substances were the largest number of infected in Poland.

The reason was dirty, borrowed needles and syringes. Then it turned out that you can also get infected in heterosexual contacts, but prostitutes were blamed for it.

There is still a stereotype that HIV affects only certain social groups. Nothing could be more wrong! Today, most infections are transmitted through sexual contact.

Usually the risky person becomes infected first, but through his partners he transmits the virus to those outside the "suspicious" circle.There is no point in linking HIV with a lack of morality.

A husband who brings HIV from a business trip may be immoral, but what is the fault of his infected wife? Infection can occur through traditional, oral, anal intercourse and all sexual practices that are accompanied by disruption of the mucosa or epidermis.

Although the most vulnerable are people who frequently change partners, in fact everyone is affected. Just a moment of forgetfulness in a disco, on vacation. It is estimated that 1 in 100-200 people who have sex with HIV is contagious.

It can be concluded that the risk of infection is low. Such thinking can be deceptive. Someone can become infected after the hundredth, someone else during the first intercourse. This data concerns unprotected sexual contacts.

Don't do that

3 ways of infection

HIV is only transmitted:

1. Through blood (less than a drop is enough) 2. Through sexual contact (semen, pre-ejaculatory fluid, vaginal discharge) 3. From infected mother to child (mother's and fetus' blood do not mix, but this can happen during childbirth. Mother's food also poses a risk of infection).

HIV is an unstable virus - it dies quickly outside the human body. Usual disinfectants and the temperature of 56 ° C destroy it.

Women more vulnerable to HIV infection

It turned out that in heterosexual contact HIV is more easily transmitted from man to woman than from woman to man. One of the reasons is the difference in the anatomy of the genital organs. The area that is susceptible to infection (vaginal and cervical mucosa) is larger in women than in men (a slight rim of the mucosa around the urethra and an inner layer under the foreskin).

In addition, semen usually remains after ejaculation in the female genitalia, which significantly extends the time of the virus's contact with the mucosa susceptible to infection. Attempts to shorten this time by flushing the sperm can damage the mucosa, making it easier for the virus to penetrate.

The risk of infection is increased by inflammation of the reproductive organ (sometimes it does not cause any discomfort). Insufficient hydration of the vagina (e.g. as a result of a hormonal imbalance) additionally facilitates the penetration of the virus into the body.

Since infections are predominant among men in developed countries, a woman is also more likely to meet an infected man than the other way around. Unilateral allegiance to a partner also does not fully protect a woman.

HIV specialists emphasize that it is currently the most difficult to explain to women that the easiest way to transmitthe virus is sexual contact with an infected "accidentally" and often unknowingly partner. He passed on HIV to many women from his first and only partner.

According to an expertAnna Marzec-Bogusławska, epidemiologist

You can have a he althy baby

If a woman knows about her infection and is under specialist care, she has over 99 percent. the chance that she will give birth to a he althy baby. That is why I encourage all women who are planning motherhood, and those who are already pregnant, to have an HIV test done.

Due to the seriousness of the problem, these tests are considered to be included in tests routinely performed by every pregnant woman, such as the determination of rubella antibodies, toxoplasmosis or for the carrier of the hepatitis B virus. During pregnancy, an infected woman should remain under the care of a gynecologist - obstetrician and HIV specialist.

Usually, from the second trimester and during childbirth, the expectant mother has to take antiretroviral drugs. The risk of transmission of the virus to the baby is additionally reduced by termination of pregnancy by caesarean section, which is performed before the commencement of labor. The newborn, just like the mother, is given preparations that inhibit the multiplication of the virus.

  • HIV and pregnancy - get the virus tested

The HIV virus works comprehensively

Once in the body, HIV attacks certain types of white blood cells, damaging the immune system. As a result, it ceases to properly fulfill its task of combating pathogenic microbes.

Germs that would normally be killed quickly reproduce freely in the body - AIDS develops.

The disease differs from others in that it is not caused directly by a virus (in this case HIV), but is due to a malfunction of the immune system.

The virus begins to multiply rapidly in the body of an infected person - it can be found in the blood as well as in the fluids surrounding the brain and spinal cord. However, at this stage, you may not experience any symptoms.

Some people develop flu-like symptoms - fever and broken bones, sometimes the skin is red, a rash appears. Lymph nodes also grow, mouth ulcers develop, and herpes labialis on the lips.

Usually these symptoms are underestimated, blaming "some viruses". After a week, two of them pass without a trace.

The infected person feels he althy again. The asymptomatic period may last even a few, and sometimes even several years. Despite the fact that the disease does not make itself known, the virus systematically destroys the immune system in secret.

Sooner or later, the majority of those infected (96%) develop symptoms characteristic of AIDS.

These are various types of infections (mycoses, salmonellosis, tuberculosis, recurrent bacterial pneumonia, chronic skin ulcerations, cytomegaly, toxoplasmosis), as well as neoplastic diseases.

In people with an intact immune system, they have a specific course, while in HIV-infected people it develops completely atypically.

That's why they can confuse even an experienced doctor. Sometimes, however, AIDS develops very quickly - then only a few months pass from the moment of infection to the appearance of the characteristic symptoms of the disease, which leads to the complete destruction of the body.

HIV testing

People who suspect they may have been infected with HIV can have a no-referral, free and anonymous test for the virus at one of the 26 specialist consultation points located in major cities across the country.

There they will get professional answers to all questions. Prior to the test, talking to a counselor will help you find out if this is a good time to test and whether there is a real risk of infection. You can also test in a private lab.

Searching for the disease by force is pointless, but the problem should not be underestimated. The sooner treatment is started, the greater the chance that the virus will be contained. In addition, the partner has the right to know if we are not exposing him to infection.

Note!You shouldn't do your research right away. Depending on the type of test, infection can be detected 2 weeks or 1.5-3 months after risky behavior. A negative result after this period means no HIV has been detected. Out of 100 tests performed at consultation points, infection is detected (statistically) in 1.2 people.

  • HIV test - where to get it free and anonymously?
Where to go for help

- National AIDS Center: www.aids.gov.pl (here you can find a list of consultation points), [email protected], tel. 0-22 331 77 77- AIDS 24/7 helpline: 0 -22 692 82 26

Strong weapon to fight HIV

A breakthrough in the fight against HIV was the introduction of antiretroviral therapy (HAART) in 1996. In EU countries, including Poland, treatment is free for patients. Currently, in our country, it covers 3822 people (130 children) who meet strict medical criteria.

The patient is given several drugs (currently more than 20 preparations in various combinations are used) to attack the virus at various stages of development and, consequently, inhibit itssoaking.

Properly selected treatment allows you to reduce the number of virus particles in the blood, even so that they are no longer detectable. The immune system is rebuilt, the sick regain strength and can resume normal activities.

HAART therapy allows the patient to stay he althy for years, as long as he or she follows the doctor's instructions. You must take the tablets exactly at the right time. The treatment must not be interrupted, even in spite of diarrhea, vomiting and other ailments that usually appear shortly after starting medications.

All this can be very burdensome for the patient. The patient must also come to terms with the fact that once started treatment should be continued for the rest of his life - discontinuation of preparations or interruption in their use causes a rapid increase in the amount of virus in the body and the risk of developing HIV-related diseases.

There are no known methods of curing the disease completely. AIDS is still a severe and fatal disease. Thanks to HAART therapy, however, patients can live longer, even until they die naturally.

"Zdrowie" monthly

Category:

Intimate diseases