RElATING HIV AND OTHER STIs


Relationship between HIV/AIDs and other sexually transmitted infections


Sexually transmitted infections as the name suggests are diseases that are acquired through having sexual intercourse with an HIV infected person.such common infections include gonorrhea,suphilis,herpes,chlamydia and trichomoniasis.HIV as well is a sexually transmitted infection therefore its spread the same way as other STIs.
Not only that does infection with the STIs makes it easier to acquire HIV but they also make it easier to transmit it through their genital secretions.
Treatment of STIs can decrease a person's likelihood of transmitting HIV.
STIs can increase HIV successibility in the following ways;
1)STIs such as syphilis causes open wounds as well as ulcers to form in the genital area.This wounds may be visible or invisible, the wounds provides a direct entry of HIV into the blood stream.HIV virus do target the white blood cells which help the immune system in fighting infections,thus having an STI mobilizes more white blood cells for HIV to infect.
2)Some STIs such as gonorrhea and herpes do not cause open wounds,instead their presence in person's body can cause the concentration of the CD4 cells in the body to increase around the genital area.The increased concentration of the CD4 cells gives HIV virus a favourable target to infect.
3)Viral loads of a person who is infected with both the STIs and HIV is very high mostly in the blood and the genital secretions.the increase in the viral load in the blood makes one become more infectious even when under the antiretroviral  treatment.
Goretty odhiambo


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

TYPES OF HIV TEST

1.Antibody tests The most common HIV test is an antibody test. Antibodies are part of your immune system that are produced when you come into contact with an infection. Antibody tests look for this immune response. These tests can be finger-prick tests or use blood samples sent to a laboratory. If this result is negative or non-reactive, then you are HIV negative. If the result is positive this does not mean that you definitely have HIV, although it is likely. A small percentage of people can have a ‘false-positive’ result. All positive results need to be confirmed by a second test. In the UK a more sensitive antibody test called a western blot test is usually used to confirm a positive result. The western blot test takes longer (usually a week). It identifies genuine positive results. HIV antibody tests do not work as soon as you are infected because it usually takes four weeks for your body to generate antibodies to HIV. The time between infection and when your body ...
Read more

WITCHCRAFT AND HIV

Myth is a widely held but false idea or belief,on the other hand witchcraft is the practice of and belief in magical skills and abilities exercised by solitary practitioners. It is a central to many African conceptions of illness, disease causation and etiology. It varies culturally depending with the society. In many countries especially African countries people belief that HIV/AIDS is a spell that is cursed on a person through witchcraft.since an HIV/AIDS infected person may show signs like diarrhea and loss of weight which are classic symptoms of poisoning through witchcraft, suspicion of is retained as potential explanation for the ultimate reason behind the infection. The infected person would then consulte a witchdoctor for medication thus leading to more deaths since they can not find proper medication to prolong their lives.Men and women who believe HIV/AIDS is spread through witchcraft are less likely to use protection (condoms) during sexual intercourse.   ...
Read more

DRUG ABUSE CONTRIBUTION TO HIV/AIDS SPREAD

DRUG ABUSE CONTRIBUTION TO HIV /AIDS SPREAD Drug abuse is the over or under use  of any substance that alternates the normal functioning of the body. Drug abuse has been a great contributor to the spread  of HIV/AIDS. Do drugs contribute to the Spread  of HIV and how? It  increases the likely hood  of users to engage in high-risk  sexual practice   with infected individuals. Drug abuse also interferes with  effectiveness  of HIV treatment. Addicts may engage in sexually risky behaviors to obtain drugs or money for drugs. Sharing of needles while doing  drugs also exposes users to  infection since no one really  bothers about  the status of the other drug user. Abuse of substance      increases cancer risk ( ie)  most HIV patients  are smokers hence increased  incidence of lung cancer shortening the lifespan of the patient . Research shows that drug abuse causes greater  injury to...
Read more