AIDS discovery
Today is the 30th anniversary of the discovery of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) -- the causative agent of Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS). AIDS is one of the three worst plagues causing suffering in humans today (along with Malaria and Tuberculosis). Over 35 million people are living with HIV, a staggering number considering that the disease moved from other primates to humans only 100 years ago. At the current rate, AIDS is a pandemic that we don’t yet have under control. (See the impact on society in this story by Geoffrey Cowley)
Today is the 30th anniversary of the discovery of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) -- the causative agent of Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS). AIDS is one of the three worst plagues causing suffering in humans today (along with Malaria and Tuberculosis). Over 35 million people are living with HIV, a staggering number considering that the disease moved from other primates to humans only 100 years ago. At the current rate, AIDS is a pandemic that we don’t yet have under control. (See the impact on society in this story by Geoffrey Cowley)
HIV outlookRecent studies show that ramping up HIV diagnosis and prevention now will be cheaper and more effective at reducing the spread of HIV in the long run. In the absence of any new efforts--if we just keep doing what we’re doing--the number of people living with HIV could double to 70 million in 20 years.
HIV treatment
has improved significantly, with a multi-faceted approach to managing the
infection. There have even been a few cases of patients that are “functionally
cured” a state where virus levels remain low well after treatment, although
at this point a complete cure is not available. But there are dozens of vaccine trials
under study right now that would either treat or prevent HIV infection and hopefully
one of them could be the next HIV breakthrough.
We've talked about viruses and bacteria a lot in class, and a lot about antibiotic resistance in term of bacteria. We've also described how viruses have a high mutation rates. Can this pose as a problem for HIV if scientists start coming up with vaccines against it, like in the case of MRSA?
ReplyDeleteThe article written by Geoffrey Crowley mentions that HIV/AIDS was considered a cancer virus, why is that? Also since the HIV virus attacks helper T cells, which are an important part of the adaptive immune system, how successful can a vaccine be against a virus that has high variability in its Env proteins and hijacks a part of our immune system? Is a vaccine really the best way to go or would gene therapy ( like tweaking our helper T-cell receptor genes) be more effective theoretically?
ReplyDelete-Erika Guzman
Not to sound cruel, but could it be that the HIV virus was purposefully selected to be highly mutable? Just as there are thousands of viruses in the ocean to control the population of bacteria there are also thousands of viruses to control our human population. Natural selection is embedded in our world and even with the power that we as humans harness it seems that there will always be something we cannot control. Yes we have almost eradicated some viruses but just when we do so it seems that two more come in place. I know this topic is sensitive but maybe that could be a reason why we have been able to effectively eradicate this debilitating disease
ReplyDeleteSay after years of research there comes a conclusion that HIV cannot be cured or prevented against with a vaccine, would it be possible to prevent it from spreading via sex? If everyone who has the disease takes strong caution with spreading it, the virus will eventually be eradicated and gone because the people who contain it will die eventually. Of course this is a long term solution because it would take years and years for everyone who has the disease to die, but I feel like if more energy was put towards preventing it such as condoms or other barriers etc, the virus would eventually disappear. Of course this would take the cooperation of everyone who has it which is not always the case in society. But particularly in third world countries, wouldn't educating them on the disease and supplying them with sexual barrios be just as helpful as giving them a vaccine?
ReplyDeleteAll of the above comments are very good ideas for the prevention/eradication of HIV. When I was reading Erika's comment, I was wondering if we did gene therapy on helper T-cells, would they loose their ability to protect against other disease? I do not know if this would be possible, but could we replace someone's helper T-cells with a healthy donor that is a match? I know in the case of successful bone marrow transplants, patients start producing blood with the donor's DNA. Could the same occur with helper T-cells?
ReplyDelete-Steph
I completely agree with the previous comment and I know that we will soon come up with a vaccine for HIV or maybe even a cure in the ear future. But what I wonder is how will we distribute a vaccine/cure to the entire world? We were very lucky that Jonas Salk gave up his patent rights to his polio vaccine in order to allow everybody access to it. In today's terms, he missed out on hundreds of millions of dollars in royalties. I personally don't see major pharmaceutical companies making the same decision and missing out on that kind of payday. Even today we still have cases of Polio in the world because the vaccine hasn't been universally available. What could we do in order to make a HIV vaccine/cure be more available to completely eradicate HIV/AIDs. -Justin Jayme
ReplyDeleteReading this article reminded me of the current outbreak of the Ebola virus. Most people in the world are rightfully scared that this could be the next pandemic, if it hasn’t started to be already. How do the HIV statistics at the beginning of infection in humans, such as people who obtained the virus compared to the deaths occurred, compare to the current Ebola statistics? Knowing the effects of HIV on the human population, and the time it has taken to learn and fight against this disease, should we believe that Ebola has a chance at being stopped before it wreaks more havoc in countries, or should we prepare for a pandemic worse than HIV?
ReplyDelete-Tessa Cunha
To the Anonymous comment.. I think HIV is called a "cancer virus" because of its properties. It attacks the immune system and eventually shuts it down, if not treated, kind of how cancer cells aggressively attack the immune system.
ReplyDeleteHaving only a general idea of how viruses work, I wonder why HIV hasn't mutated into another strand of HIV in order to continue effecting its hosts. I know that when you get a cold, for example, that it is never the same viral material that got you sick the previous time... so couldn't a more complex virus such as HIV be easily able to perform such a task? Besides AIDS, which is only a far progressed version of HIV, I'm surprised HIV doesn't have some sort of derivative that has become immune to the HIV treatments in order to keeping infecting its host (Not that I would want it to happen, that's horrible! Just thinking out loud).
Good day My Name is vivck mary i am here to share a great testimony of my life i was cure from HIV by a Doctor Name DR CUBA i have been HIV for 5 year i saw doctor Email on the internet so i contact him and i explain to him i follow up the instruction behold 6 days later after taking the cure i went for a HIV text to my surprise it was Negative my family doctor was surprise my husband who abandon me was surprise my brother if you no that you are positive please i will advise you to contact him now and see for your self his Email is drcubatemple@gmail.com why is website is......[ www.dr-cubatemple.webas.com] and also you can contact on whatsapp +2347038965900
ReplyDeleteGood day everyone my name is blunt james from USA, I have this great opportunity to share this testimony about how I get cure for my HIV, two years ago I was HIV positive so I was suffering from it I was doing one thing or the order to get a cure there was know way for it so I was on my way search on the internet I see a testimony of a young man,speaking about how Dr Aziba help him get a cured for HIV with his herbal medicine I was surprise and I do not believe, I said okay let me try him I contacted him on his email address and he gave me intrusion and I followed it he told me what to do and I do it after 5 days he send me the medicine through DHL and i received it, he told me how to use it and I do it after two weeks he told me that I should go for test I do it and I was afraid then later on the test came out i was so surprise that am HIV negative I was so very happy i could not believe it will work and i we be HIV Negative, now am happy with my family with my two kids. I want to use this opportunity to say this if you have this kind of disease called HIV I want you to contact him on is email (Draziba@outlook.com OR WHATSAPP HIM ON +2349076651593 ) and he can also help you get a cure for HPV disease or any disease with his herbal medicine. all you have to do is to believe him. this is one of the promise i made that i will purblish him to the world. thank you my Dr may God bless you.
ReplyDeleteGood day everyone my name is blunt james from USA, I have this great opportunity to share this testimony about how I get cure for my HIV, two years ago I was HIV positive so I was suffering from it I was doing one thing or the order to get a cure there was know way for it so I was on my way search on the internet I see a testimony of a young man,speaking about how Dr Aziba help him get a cured for HIV with his herbal medicine I was surprise and I do not believe, I said okay let me try him I contacted him on his email address and he gave me intrusion and I followed it he told me what to do and I do it after 5 days he send me the medicine through DHL and i received it, he told me how to use it and I do it after two weeks he told me that I should go for test I do it and I was afraid then later on the test came out i was so surprise that am HIV negative I was so very happy i could not believe it will work and i we be HIV Negative, now am happy with my family with my two kids. I want to use this opportunity to say this if you have this kind of disease called HIV I want you to contact him on is email (Draziba@outlook.com OR WHATSAPP HIM ON +2349076651593 ) and he can also help you get a cure for HPV disease or any disease with his herbal medicine. all you have to do is to believe him. this is one of the promise i made that i will purblish him to the world. thank you my Dr may God bless you.
ReplyDelete