The Christ Church High School of Lahore, Pakistan, The Girls Preparatory School of Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA The St. Alban's College of Pretoria, South Africa, and The Walker School of Marietta, Georgia, USA are cooperating in the program of the National Association of Independent Schools, "Challenge 20/20 - 20 Global Problems, 20 Years to Solve Them." The primary topic for this group is Global Infectious Diseases.
Thursday, October 11, 2007
HIV/AIDS - GPS Discussion Group
The GPS HIV/AIDS Discussion Group will post information and discussion here based on instructions provided by Erin Oliver.
In order to create a Google username and password please visit www.google.com and subscribe to an email (gmail)account. Record your name and password in a location where it will not be lost.
causes: In order to be tested positive for AIDS you must have the HIV virus. HIV is human immunodifficiency virus. HIV was first identified in 1983 as the cause of AIDS. It is the only second retrovirus to infect and harm human beings. The virus destroys the body over time by killing helper T cells. HIV is carried in blood, breast milk, seamen, and vaginal secretions.
The AIDS is spread by sexual intercourse, blood transfusions, and the sharing of needles, i.e. drug use. AIDS occurs in groups of people who through their living conditions or life styles are more heavily exposed than others to the multiple, repeated, and chronic actions of immunological stressor agents.
I'm working on the intro, so I won't be doing much detailed research. Here are some starting questions.
What is HIV ADIS? How does someone contract HIV? How can that be prevented? What are some symptoms of AIDS? How is it diagnosed? What happens inside the body of an individual with AIDS? What are limitations of an individual with Aids? How can AIDS be treated? What is its impact both global and local? How are organizations are trying to reduce the spread of AIDS?
The impact in South Africa is large (St. Albans brought that up). Frances and Filza, you might want to focus on that.
Here are some possible websites that could help you: ** Don’t forget about the online lab we did about HIV AIDS; that will most likely help answer the question about what occurs within the body** http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/hiv-aids/DS00005 http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/resources/factsheets/ (This website has statistics for individuals of various ethnicities and sexualities) http://www.undp.org/hiv/ (This website has information on what has newly developed) http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/TOPICS/EXTHEALTHNUTRITIONANDPOPULATION/EXTHIVAIDS/0,,menuPK:376477~pagePK:149018~piPK:149093~theSitePK:376471,00.html (Shows how program is helping prevention of AIDS through education) http://aidsinfo.nih.gov/ (Information on drugs, clinical trials, vaccines, etc.)
The last website provides the most thorough answers to the questions. I think it will help every group!!
I found out what the Health Minister of South Africa said about AIDS. She, Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, has been criticized by AIDS activists as not trying to help victims get treatment. The minister has been accused of not giving anti-retroviral AIDS drugs to people who are dying much earlier than they would with the drugs. This year the South African government cut funding for retro-viral drugs from R270 million to R90 million. The minister has also said that instead of the drugs AIDS victims should try eating garlic instead. This is what the guy from St. Alban's was alluding to in his email.
Antiretroviral treatment for HIV infection consists of drugs which work against HIV infection itself by slowing down the replication of HIV in the body. The drugs are often referred to as: • antiretrovirals • anti-HIV drugs • HIV antiviral drugs For antiretroviral treatment to be effective for a long time, it has been found that you need to take more than one antiretroviral drug at a time. This is what is known as Combination Therapy. The term Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART) is used to describe a combination of three or more anti-HIV drugs.
Nucleoside/Nucleotide Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors The first group of antiretroviral drugs are the Nucleoside/Nucleotide Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors (NRTIs). These were the first type of drug available to treat HIV infection in 1987. NRTIs (also known as nucleoside analogues or nukes) interfere with the action of an HIV protein called reverse transcriptase, which the virus needs to make new copies of itself. NRTIs are sometimes called the "backbone" of combination therapy because most regimens contain at least two of these drugs. Non-Nucleoside Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors The second group of antiretroviral drugs are the Non-Nucleoside Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors (NNRTIs), which started to be approved in 1997. Like the nukes, NNRTIs (also known as non-nucleosides or non-nukes) stop HIV from replicating within cells by inhibiting the reverse transcriptase protein. Protease Inhibitors
The third type of antiretrovirals is the protease inhibitor (PI) group. The first protease inhibitor was approved in 1995. Protease inhibitors, as the name says, inhibit protease, which is another protein involved in the HIV replication process. Fusion or Entry Inhibitors The fourth group of antiretrovirals is comprised of entry inhibitors, including fusion inhibitors. Entry inhibitors prevent HIV from entering human immune cells. One fusion inhibitor - commonly called T-20 - has been licensed both in the US and in Europe since 2003, but only for use by people who have already tried other treatments. T-20 differs from the other antiretrovirals in that it needs to be injected (otherwise it would be digested in the stomach). A new type of entry inhibitor known as maraviroc was licensed in 2007. This drug is known as a CCR5 inhibitor as it blocks the CCR5 co-receptor on human immune cells, preventing HIV from attaching to the cells' surface. Integrase Inhibitors The final group of antiretrovirals currently consists of just one drug, raltegravir, which was approved in the US in October 2007. Raltegravir inhibits an enzyme called integrase, which HIV needs to insert its genetic material into human cells. Kids:
A trial in the United States, for example, found that the mortality rate among a sample of infected children was reduced from 5.3% to 0.7% per year after HAART was made widely available. 1 Another trial in France studied 403 HIV-infected babies born before HAART was available and 85 born after. While 12% of those born before HAART had died by the age of 18 months, all babies receiving HAART were still alive when they reached this age.
Goal is to have 80% of people have access to ARV treatment by in 2010.
http://www.avert.org/hivtreatment.htm (this is the same website sarah used for some of her info. actually some of it is probably the same)
HIV- Human Immunodeficiency Virus; causes AIDS; HIV destroys blood cells that are crucial to the normal function of immune system; defends body against illness
AIDS- Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome; immune system is weakened by HIV and a person develops any number of diseases or cancers
HIV infection- most commonly detected through test of a sample of blood or oral fluid; rapid HIV test has been developed for use with oral fluid otehr than saliva and can be used on plasma specimens
HIV Transmission- doesn't survive well outside the body; can't be transmitted throuch casual contact; spread by sexual contact or sharing of needles and other injecting equipment
More information about HIV and the causes: When infected with HIV, CD4 + T cells are killed during infection The end stage of AIDS is characterized by a count of or below 200/ where the average healthy person has about 800-1200 CD4 + T cells Symptoms of AIDS include of the intestinal tract, lungs, brain, eyes and other organs, weight loss, diarrhea, neurologic conditions and cancers. HIV is like other viruses in that it replicates inside cells only and different in that, like other retroviruses, convert its RNA to DNA by using the enzyme reverse scriptase which are than incorporated into the host cell’s genes. The infection of HIV begins when one of more of its gp120 molecules binds tightly to CD4 molecules that are found on the cell’s surface. Fusion of the virus membranes and the cell occur, which than causes the RNA, proteins, and enzymes of the virus to be released.
HIV/ AIDS Introduction- Sarah G. Background- Callie and Casey Impacts- (local) Drocky and Courtney U. (global) Frances and Filza Causes- Jennifer and Madeline Solutions- Maya and Channing Treatment- Sarah N. and Katie Practice- Starnes Conclusion- Everybody
Quick global facts I found from http://www.heifer.org/site/c.edJRKQNiFiG/b.1676171/?msource=0606wspecial#
HIV/AIDS By The Numbers
15 million children have been orphaned by HIV/AIDS. That's more than the combined total of all the children under the age of five in 48 of the 50 states in the U.S.
96 percent of all HIV cases are in the developing world.
25 million in Sub-Saharan Africa are HIV positive.
Every 60 seconds a child dies of HIV/AIDS related diseases.
14,000 people contract HIV worldwide every day.
75 percent of all the young people infected are women and girls.
15 comments:
In order to create a Google username and password please visit www.google.com and subscribe to an email (gmail)account. Record your name and password in a location where it will not be lost.
Typically, HIV/AIDS drugs (antiretrovirals) work to decrease the rate at which the virus replicates.
5 types of antiretroviral drugs
1) Nucleoside/Nucleotide Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors
2)Non-Nucleoside Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors
3)Protease Inhibitors
4)Fusion or Entry Inhibitors
5)Integrase Inhibitors
Specific descriptions of these drugs can be found at
http://www.avert.org/introtrt.htm
causes: In order to be tested positive for AIDS you must have the HIV virus. HIV is human immunodifficiency virus. HIV was first identified in 1983 as the cause of AIDS. It is the only second retrovirus to infect and harm human beings. The virus destroys the body over time by killing helper T cells. HIV is carried in blood, breast milk, seamen, and vaginal secretions.
The AIDS is spread by sexual intercourse, blood transfusions, and the sharing of needles, i.e. drug use. AIDS occurs in groups of people who through their living conditions or life styles are more heavily exposed than others to the multiple, repeated, and chronic actions of immunological stressor agents.
I'm working on the intro, so I won't be doing much detailed research. Here are some starting questions.
What is HIV ADIS? How does someone contract HIV? How can that be prevented? What are some symptoms of AIDS? How is it diagnosed? What happens inside the body of an individual with AIDS? What are limitations of an individual with Aids? How can AIDS be treated? What is its impact both global and local? How are organizations are trying to reduce the spread of AIDS?
The impact in South Africa is large (St. Albans brought that up). Frances and Filza, you might want to focus on that.
Here are some possible websites that could help you:
** Don’t forget about the online lab we did about HIV AIDS; that will most likely help answer the question about what occurs within the body**
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/hiv-aids/DS00005
http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/resources/factsheets/ (This website has statistics for individuals of various ethnicities and sexualities)
http://www.undp.org/hiv/ (This website has information on what has newly developed)
http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/TOPICS/EXTHEALTHNUTRITIONANDPOPULATION/EXTHIVAIDS/0,,menuPK:376477~pagePK:149018~piPK:149093~theSitePK:376471,00.html (Shows how program is helping prevention of AIDS through education)
http://aidsinfo.nih.gov/ (Information on drugs, clinical trials, vaccines, etc.)
The last website provides the most thorough answers to the questions. I think it will help every group!!
I found out what the Health Minister of South Africa said about AIDS. She, Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, has been criticized by AIDS activists as not trying to help victims get treatment. The minister has been accused of not giving anti-retroviral AIDS drugs to people who are dying much earlier than they would with the drugs. This year the South African government cut funding for retro-viral drugs from R270 million to R90 million. The minister has also said that instead of the drugs AIDS victims should try eating garlic instead. This is what the guy from St. Alban's was alluding to in his email.
Treatment:
Antiretroviral treatment for HIV infection consists of drugs which work against HIV infection itself by slowing down the replication of HIV in the body. The drugs are often referred to as:
• antiretrovirals
• anti-HIV drugs
• HIV antiviral drugs
For antiretroviral treatment to be effective for a long time, it has been found that you need to take more than one antiretroviral drug at a time. This is what is known as Combination Therapy. The term Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART) is used to describe a combination of three or more anti-HIV drugs.
Nucleoside/Nucleotide Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors
The first group of antiretroviral drugs are the Nucleoside/Nucleotide Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors (NRTIs). These were the first type of drug available to treat HIV infection in 1987. NRTIs (also known as nucleoside analogues or nukes) interfere with the action of an HIV protein called reverse transcriptase, which the virus needs to make new copies of itself. NRTIs are sometimes called the "backbone" of combination therapy because most regimens contain at least two of these drugs.
Non-Nucleoside Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors
The second group of antiretroviral drugs are the Non-Nucleoside Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors (NNRTIs), which started to be approved in 1997. Like the nukes, NNRTIs (also known as non-nucleosides or non-nukes) stop HIV from replicating within cells by inhibiting the reverse transcriptase protein.
Protease Inhibitors
The third type of antiretrovirals is the protease inhibitor (PI) group. The first protease inhibitor was approved in 1995. Protease inhibitors, as the name says, inhibit protease, which is another protein involved in the HIV replication process.
Fusion or Entry Inhibitors
The fourth group of antiretrovirals is comprised of entry inhibitors, including fusion inhibitors. Entry inhibitors prevent HIV from entering human immune cells.
One fusion inhibitor - commonly called T-20 - has been licensed both in the US and in Europe since 2003, but only for use by people who have already tried other treatments. T-20 differs from the other antiretrovirals in that it needs to be injected (otherwise it would be digested in the stomach).
A new type of entry inhibitor known as maraviroc was licensed in 2007. This drug is known as a CCR5 inhibitor as it blocks the CCR5 co-receptor on human immune cells, preventing HIV from attaching to the cells' surface.
Integrase Inhibitors
The final group of antiretrovirals currently consists of just one drug, raltegravir, which was approved in the US in October 2007. Raltegravir inhibits an enzyme called integrase, which HIV needs to insert its genetic material into human cells.
Kids:
A trial in the United States, for example, found that the mortality rate among a sample of infected children was reduced from 5.3% to 0.7% per year after HAART was made widely available. 1 Another trial in France studied 403 HIV-infected babies born before HAART was available and 85 born after. While 12% of those born before HAART had died by the age of 18 months, all babies receiving HAART were still alive when they reached this age.
Goal is to have 80% of people have access to ARV treatment by in 2010.
http://www.avert.org/hivtreatment.htm
(this is the same website sarah used for some of her info. actually some of it is probably the same)
HIV- Human Immunodeficiency Virus; causes AIDS; HIV destroys blood cells that are crucial to the normal function of immune system; defends body against illness
AIDS- Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome; immune system is weakened by HIV and a person develops any number of diseases or cancers
HIV infection- most commonly detected through test of a sample of blood or oral fluid; rapid HIV test has been developed for use with oral fluid otehr than saliva and can be used on plasma specimens
HIV Transmission- doesn't survive well outside the body; can't be transmitted throuch casual contact; spread by sexual contact or sharing of needles and other injecting equipment
More information about HIV and the causes:
When infected with HIV, CD4 + T cells are killed during infection
The end stage of AIDS is characterized by a count of or below 200/ where the average healthy person has about 800-1200 CD4 + T cells
Symptoms of AIDS include of the intestinal tract, lungs, brain, eyes and other organs, weight loss, diarrhea, neurologic conditions and cancers.
HIV is like other viruses in that it replicates inside cells only and different in that, like other retroviruses, convert its RNA to DNA by using the enzyme reverse scriptase which are than incorporated into the host cell’s genes.
The infection of HIV begins when one of more of its gp120 molecules binds tightly to CD4 molecules that are found on the cell’s surface. Fusion of the virus membranes and the cell occur, which than causes the RNA, proteins, and enzymes of the virus to be released.
HIV/ AIDS
Introduction- Sarah G.
Background- Callie and Casey
Impacts- (local) Drocky and Courtney U. (global) Frances and Filza
Causes- Jennifer and Madeline
Solutions- Maya and Channing
Treatment- Sarah N. and Katie
Practice- Starnes
Conclusion- Everybody
Quick global facts I found from http://www.heifer.org/site/c.edJRKQNiFiG/b.1676171/?msource=0606wspecial#
HIV/AIDS
By The Numbers
15 million children have been orphaned by HIV/AIDS. That's more than the combined total of all the children under the age of five in 48 of the 50 states in the U.S.
96 percent of all HIV cases are in the developing world.
25 million in Sub-Saharan Africa are HIV positive.
Every 60 seconds a child dies of HIV/AIDS related diseases.
14,000 people contract HIV worldwide every day.
75 percent of all the young people infected are women and girls.
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