Virus to Every American in the United States in 2000 Since the first case were identified in the United States in 1981, AIDS has touched the lives of millions of families. In almost two decades, the problems created by AIDS has been consisting in the United States. There are three problems drastically influence the people in the United States. First, AIDS makes the AIDS patients repelled by the society and lost their families, friends, lovers, and work For instance, in Florida, Broward County parents packed school meetings and teachers filed aclass action grievance saying a students presence endangered their health.
District officials determined that the 17-year-old mentally handicapped boy with AIDS would be educated by a teacher in an isolated classroom in the in California, a young man arrived home one evening to find that the locks had been changed. A few days later he discovered that everything he had ever touched had been thrown out, such as clothes, books, bed sheets, and tooth- brush. The day before he had told his friends he had AIDS.
Overnight, he had no friends, slept on park benches, stole food, passed bad checks, and no one Second, it makes the AIDS patients paid high cost of treatment from initial infection through death. The combination anti-HIV therapy cost $12,000 to 18,000 a year. The many other medications the patients with advanced AIDS may need for related conditions could raise the bill to $70,000 a year. (K. Altman). Many others may have to pay out of pocket if the private health insurance plans will cover cost of some AIDS patients. Moreover, the cost of new treatment still on increasing.
Therefore, it is really hard for the poor people to afford this bill. Last, AIDS is the fifth leading cause of death among American between 25-44-years-old. The spread of AIDS in the United States has historically resisted and continues to esist attempted solution. In the present time, nobody has found where was the AIDS actually come from. But the countries of the world showing the highest rates of infection are located in south-central Africa.
Epidemiological studies have confirmed that HTLV-III spread first in Africa and is endemic in Zaire, Burundim Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzaniz, and Kenya. ith the rise of urbanism and jet travel in south-central Africa, the virus spread rapidly from city to city throughout Central African, into Haiti, and 4 percent of gay men in North American by the late 1970s. (A. Feldman 5) On June 5, 1981 the first cases of the illness now known as acquired immunodeficinecy syndrome were reported from Los Angeles in five young homosexual men diagnosed with Pneumeocystis carinii pneumonis and other opportunistic infections. (J. Stine xxxii) Then, the people infected with AIDS virus increasing year by year.
In almost two decades, the World Health Organization, Food and Drug Administration, U. S. Department of Public Health, and more organization have been tried many solution to minimize the spread of AIDS in the United States only with a minimal success. These rograms included a school AIDS education, promotion of abstinence, promotion of condoms, and safer sex. For instance, the public school AIDS education programs that have been designed to refuse pregnancy and the spread of STDs among teenagers.
However, data from a variety of high school sex education classes offered across the country indicate that teenagers are learning the essential facts but they are not practicing what they learn and what they know. (298). Moreover, risky sexual behavior is widespread among teenagers and has resulted in high rates of STDs. Over 25% of the 20 illion STD cases per year occur among teenager. (298). In addition, promotion of abstinence is the surest way to avoid contraction AIDS, but it is very hard to practice in todays sexually charged environment.
It is because the young people themselves often feel sex is an important step to maturity; most adults think it is essential to a romantic and intimate relationship. (Garwood). Also, the promotion of condom program in college may actually encourage sexual activity rather than discourage it. Overall of these programs have reduced new HIV infection by 33 percent. (A. Feldman 226). That is not nough to minimize the spread of AIDS in the United States. If we want to have a more effective result, more organizations, foundations, and donors should involved the new program and research.
Therefore, the researchers can get enough budget for a research. Since many solutions have been tried with only a minimal success in the United States, there are three alternative solution for this problem can be considered. The first of the alternative solution is the public health officials can target on a few of ethic and age groups that have the largest amount of AIDS and the main factor getting AIDS in the United States in order to respond the solution. It is because United States is the largest subculture country in the global.
Therefore, we cannot to use the same method to different ethic and age groups. The second of the alternative solution is the development Scientist are attempting to design three types of vaccines: (1) a preventive or prophylactic vaccine to protect people from becoming HIV-infected, analogous to classic virus vaccine such as those for measles and polio; (2) a therapeutic vaccine for those who are already infect with HIV to prevent them from progressing to AIDS : and (3) a perinatal vaccine for dministration to pregnant HIV-infected women to prevent transmission of the virus to the fetus. J. Stein 174). The last of the alternative solution is a female use a condom instead of male because the AIDS cases in women were twice times more than the AIDS cases in men in the United States. (Stolberg) Thus, female needs to use a condom in order to avoiding the AIDS cases increasing rather than a male. A female condom is a safe and effective substance that can be inserted into the vagina in a foam, gel, sponge or other form to kill or prevent it from infecting cells in the body.
First, the public health officials can target on the ethnic and age groups that have the largest amount of people infected with AIDS and the main factor getting AIDS in the United States in order to respond the solution. It is a feasible to work for this solution. For instance, AIDS is now the leading cause of death between age 25- 44 years old and over half of thiese deaths are injection related among of the African Americans and Hispanics in the United States. (Elder). Also, Seventy percent of all injection-related AIDS cases among African Americans and Hispanics have been reported in the last five ears. Day). The main reason is these two ethic groups of injecting drug users are likely to sharing their dirty needles and injecting illicit drugs. Therefore, we have to get started with the clean-needle programs for the among of African Americans and Hispanics who is a drug user in the United States. Clean-needle programs cost between $40,00 and 12,000 for persons who inject drugs over a five-year period. (Elder). This is far lower that the estimated $119,000 life time cost of treating an HIV-infected person. (Elder).
Since only small harm-reduction organizations funded by small oundation grants(Elder) are not enough, the injecting drug users must pay the full cost of clean-needle programs by themselves. The clean-needle programs have been endorsed by the American Public Health association and the American Medical Association, as well as other associations concerned with our nations health. (Elder). The harm-reduction organizations will carry out the solution. (Elder). Their work is giving out the clean needles and collecting the dirty ones. The risks involved for this solution is this such program will encourage and increase the injecting drug users.
A esult in Italy, the decrease of among AIDS cases related drug injection from 70 percent to 56 percent when the clean-needle started. (J Stein 169). The second solution is the development of AIDS vaccine. It is a feasible to develop an AIDS vaccine, but the vaccine is not one hundred percent effective. (K. Altman). Moreover, the experts cannot have the full-scale tests should be conducted until the laboratory and animal research shows a solid scientific understanding of how an experimental vaccine work. Recently, test of the AIDS vaccine go into full scale testing in the United States.
The roject has spent at least 639 million on developing of AIDS vaccine since the first day of the project started (G. Weniger) and $200 million annually on research the vaccine. ( Richardson). But the cost of developing of AIDS vaccine will be depends on how long the scientist could create the effectiveness of the vaccine are vastly reduce the chance having AIDS. The Federal Government and the Food and Drug Administration will 100 percent cover of the cost of the AIDS vaccine.
This project needed more volunteers to involve for the vaccine tests. The VaxGen vaccine was involved 1,200 volunteers eginning in March 1992. K. Altman). Recently, 5,000 volunteers are involved a new vaccine test over the next four years in up to 40 clinics in the United States and Canada. (K. Altman). However, the largest amount of money have spent for AIDS vaccine, but too many experts expressed doubt about the vaccines effectiveness. Thus, the only risk is the large amount of money being used and the result of AIDS vaccine may not effective on AIDS patients. Many scientists said that the little confidence that the vaccines would protect sufficiently large proportion of recipient. (K. Altman).
The last alternative olution is female use a condom instead of male. It is a feasible for female to use condom. The female condom is cost $2. 25 for each ( Smother) and this cost is much expensive than the male condom, but the female condom is much safer and has stronger texture than the male condom It is because the female condom used with a nonoxynol-9 ( J. Stein 165) for additional protection against HIV/AIDS in the event of displacement , breakage, or leakage. However, the currently Medicaid does not cover this device, as it does the male condom, spermicide, and barrier, but Medicaid coverage is expected in 1999/2000. 65). The World Health Organization had the capabilities necessary to carry out the solution. The greatest risk for this solution is the money being wasted because the women built-in resistance to use the condom when they have sex. Nevertheless, from research, nearly seven million of female condom have been distributed in the 34 counties in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, and the device is gaining acceptance among women. (G. McNeil Jr). In my opinion, the best of the alternative solution will be the female condom since the AIDS cases in women were twice times more than the AIDS cases in men in the
United States. Therefore, the spread of AIDS will be minimize in the United States when we can persuade more women to use the female condom. However, the first step to make more women to use the female condom frequently as well as men do, we have to lower the cost of the female condom. Moreover, women need to make their important decision by themselves to wear the condom and do not let the men make the decision because men do not like the way they feel when they have sex. So, we have to put more effort on this solution to come out a more positive result.
Nearly seven million of female condom have been distributed in the 34 counties in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, and the device is gaining acceptance among women. (G. McNeil Jr). Moreover, more men are being used to it and feel better than they wear the male condom. Also, no breakage or leakage of female condom have report so far in these counties. ( G. McNeil Jr). It is because the female condom is safer and stronger than the male condom at preventing the infection. Therefore, female condom is the best way I think to minimize the spread of AIDS in the United States by 2000.
