HIV; A VIRUS WITH A MIND OF ITS OWN
The
Human Immunodeficiency Virus or HIV is a retrovirus that causes Acquired
Immunodeficiency Syndrome [AIDS] which has terrorised the world over since its
infamous inauguration in 1981. It is currently placed as the most deadliest
virus claiming the lives of more than 25 million victims up to date. A third of
these deaths are attributed to the Sub-Saharan Africans that are suffering from
increasing poverty and decreasing economic growth. According to WHO records
around 90 million people in Africa have been victimised by the virus.
The
number of newly infected individuals with the HIV virus is said to have reduced
by 16% between 2001-2008 on a global scale according to the latest records
published the WHO. In 2008 around 2.7 million individuals contracted the virus
with around 2 million HIV/AIDS associated death while 1.4 million HIV +
pregnant women within low-middle income countries were administered
anti-retroviral therapy [ART] to prevent transmission of the virus to their
unborn babies. By the end of 2008, an estimated 4 million people within these
regions were receiving ART treatment but with a further 5 million HIV+ patients
untreated within these countries. The figure below shows the estimated
prevalence of HIV amongst the world population aged 15-49 years in 2007.
The
diagram below shows the statistics published by the WHO for the purpose of
denoting the number of HIV cases in Sri Lankan by the end of 2005.
