Communicable illnesses are transmissible from one individual to the other through direct contact with an infected individual or indirect means such as through sharing infected body fluids and discharge. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), infectious diseases are the hardest to control. Most people are not aware of the methods that these illnesses may be transferred to the other person. However, by creating awareness continuously, then controlling the communicable conditions can be easy. HIV/AIDS is one of the communicable infections, and means of transmission, treatment, and effects globally will be understood better in this work.
Description
HIV/AIDS is a global pandemic, and statistics show that as of 2017, more than 36.9 million individuals had the virus globally. According to the Global Burden of Disease Study that was published in 2015 in The Lancet, HIV infection increased at a very high rate of 1997 when 3.3 individuals were infected globally. The distribution of the virus varies geographically, with the Sub-Saharan African region being most affected, with an estimation of 66 % of the infected people in the 2017 report being from the area. South and South-East Asia have about four million cases of HIV, while in 2008, America had approximately 1.2 million infected individuals ( Parcesepe et al., 2018 ).
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HIV infection results from human immunodeficiency virus. There are different ways in which the virus is transmitted; contact with infected fluids such as blood, vaginal fluids, and semen. Unprotected sexual intercourse is another approach. It can also be transmitted by sharing personal items such as blades and needles. There are various symptoms used by medical providers in the diagnosis of HIV. The symptoms in a primary infection (acute HIV) are headache, rash, fever, swollen lymph glands on the neck, pains in the joints and muscles, and sore throat. The symptoms are usually mild and may even not be noticed. The latent clinical infection (chronic HIV) symptoms are persistently swollen lymph nodes, and the stage extends to about ten years when an individual is not receiving antiretroviral therapy. A blood test is used to ascertain the presence of the virus in the body and guiding treatment and management of HIV. According to Einterz (2007) treatment of HIV is done through medication and management of the illness. HIV has no cure despite all the medical efforts. The virus keeps on mutating, thus making it hard to treat. Antiretroviral medication is meant to ensure that an affected person has the right red blood cells count. It keeps the immune system healthy and able to fight other illnesses. Management is done through the type of food an individual take, healthy activities such as protected sex, avoiding alcohol and cigarettes, and exercises. Acceptance of the situation also promotes healthy living among affected people. Failure to observe the indicated facts leads to further complications such as tuberculosis, candidiasis, Cryptococcal meningitis, Cryptosporidiosis, and Toxoplasmosis. These health problems weaken the immune system, and it becomes fatal.
Social Determinants
The social determinants of health describe the circumstances people are born, grow, work, live, and age. These conditions are molded by the allocation of wealth, power, and incomes at the local, state, and global levels. The difference in social factors explains the health disparities across the world. These social determinants influence diseases differently. Employment conditions affect the income an individual make, thus the ability to afford and access high-quality medical services. An individual diagnosed with HIV requires a regular check-up and purchasing antiretroviral drugs, which are expensive. People with high paying jobs and infected with AIDS live longer as they can afford medication and live a comfortable life. People with poor-paying jobs suffer from other complications that reduces their life expectancy ( Parcesepe et al., 2018 ). Social exclusion is the other factor where some groups are favored in relation to healthcare access. It can be explained with the issue of black Americans, who have higher rates of HIV/AIDS in comparison to white race who have better access to higher medical care. Urbanization is the other social determinant that affects health care access since urban areas have a higher concentration of hospitals and medical centers in comparison to rural regions. Therefore, in the rural areas, the rates of death due to lack of knowledge on how to manage HIV may be observed.
Globalization is another social determinant establishing the difference in developments in areas explaining the variation in the quality of healthcare services. The situation can be used to explain the reasons for the Sub-Saharan region, having a higher number of people infected with HIV/AIDS and higher death rates. In this region, individuals have less knowledge concerning the management approaches of HIV, and integration of production and goods is slow ( Broder, 2010) . The health systems determinant determines the resources available to address a certain health problem. Public health programs are social determinants that impact the creation of awareness concerning a specific health problem. In some areas, especially in rural regions, access to these programs is complicated, thus making it hard for people to learn about the transmission of HIV and how the problem can be controlled.
Epidemiological Triangle
Agent-HIV is a viral infection targeting the immune system of an individual, thus making them vulnerable to different types of infections. Since the target is the immune system itself, that makes it hard for the body to fight HIV and opportunistic illnesses effectively. Transfer of the virus can take place through direct contact with the body fluids from an infected individual. The virus can also be spread by sharing needles or other sharp objects.
Host-scientists indicate that chimpanzees initially carried HIV. It got to the human being from feeding on the chimpanzee’s meat. The virus then mutated in different forms, making it hard to come up with a drug that can eliminate it. Once the infection is transmitted to the host, it keeps on changing its forms, and only control medication can be used.
Environment-the spread of HIV is impacted by different socioeconomic factors in society. The communities that have higher incidences of sexually transmitted illnesses with reduced rates of reporting resulting from social pressure create a place where HIV can flourish easily. When reporting is done, it allows to learn the extent of the problem, such as the high causes of sexually transmitted illness and determine control measures. It will help establish the type of programs that may need to be implemented in such region, such as awareness programs on safe sex methods and distribution of free condoms ( Parcesepe et al., 2018 ). Poverty limits access to healthcare and treatment, reducing the health status. Other social and economic factors include fears of stigmatization and discrimination. People fear testing and outcome of the results, with the largest group preferring to live without knowing their status. People with HIV are stigmatized, especially in a poor society where individuals are not aware that treatment and management of the health condition is possible, enabling an infected person to lead a healthy life.
Role of community Health Nurse
Community health nurses have different roles to play in preventing, treating, and managing HIV. The nurses have the function of establishing the cases of people affected by HIV in the community. It will help in planning for antiretroviral drugs needed for distribution purposes, to make sure that all registered people have the drugs they needed for the specified time. HIV data has to be reported to the national ministry of health. The information is essential in guiding whether the efforts to fight and control the condition are effective or not ( Tsasis & Nirupama, 2008) . It also helps determine whether HIV infected people seek medical attention or they fear stigmatization associated with it. Nurses use different methods to collect data. The first one is recording the number of people who go for antiretrovirals drugs per month. Nurses also offer free testing days in the community, which helps determine the percentage of infected people.
Nurses are required to conduct data analysis and establish the effects of awareness programs and the distribution of antiretroviral drugs. It will involve determining infected people who are consistent in taking their medication and the impact of drugs on their lives. The data will also show life expectancy levels, such as the number of people who die from lack of taking the medication in comparison to the ones who die from the condition. Follow-up is done mostly on the people recently infected with the disease. It is aimed at encouraging them to take medication and learn healthy ways of managing the condition ( Einterz, 2007) . After diagnosis, there are high chances of a person falling into depression, and health care nurses can help prevent such a case. Demographic data is necessary to the health of the community as it helps establish specific areas such as gender that is most affected by HIV and how they can be assisted in leading a healthy life.
Organization that Address HIV
World Health Organization deals with different health problems HIV among them. The organization works with health providers at the international, national, and community levels. Some volunteers are distributed among different communities, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa. They are aimed at creating awareness about HIV, methods that are used in the transmission of the condition, and preventative measures. These individuals are trained to offer medical services such as testing willing people, counseling before and after offering services. The WHO employees also provide training to infected people about ways of maintaining health problems to ensure a healthy life and continuing with personal life such as work and family ( Ceulemans et al., 2019 ). World Health Organization also partners with research groups in search of the HIV cure. They help in funding and learning more about the problem and information that should be shared with people internationally. The data is then applied to addressing HIV spread throughout the world.
World Health Organization has given various facts about HIV that are used in guiding their operations on preventions and addressing the problem. WHO data is used to establish the effects of the health problem at the international level, thus conducting approaches that should be taken to solve the problem. According to the organization, HIV continues to be a significant health issue at the global level and responsible for more than thirty-two million lives. However, efforts have been implemented on prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and care of the opportunistic conditions which make HIV dangerous. Efforts have helped people in middle-and-low income earning countries to access antiretroviral therapy, thus stabilizing their lives and able to control the health problem ( Broder, 2010) . World Health Organization concentrates on assisting specific groups such as pregnant and breastfeeding women in ensuring the health of the children. World Health Organization is still working to access places which have less awareness about HIV so that they can assist in addressing the problem.
Global Implication
HIV has a significant economic effect at the global level. Since the health condition was termed as a worldwide pandemic more than thirty years ago, lots of money has been used for research purposes to determine the cure. Research is still ongoing with different organizations aimed at finding a treatment that would permanently address the problem. Resources have been used in funding the manufacture of antiretrovirals to be distributed throughout the world, especially in the low-and-middle-income earning countries. The drugs are distributed for free, which means that nations and organizations are in charge of funding the manufacture and distribution processes ( Broder, 2010) . The flow of the drugs is kept continuous, explaining the expense of the process. The cost of HIV is increased by the programs on creating awareness of HIV throughout the world. The number of people hired to educate people around the globe is high, and resources needed to make the programs a success are a lot ( Piot, 2006) . Addressing HIV differs from cultures, with the primitive people in the Sub-Saharan region associating the illness with a curse. Other people consider talking about sex a taboo, and they make it hard to complete awareness programs successfully. HIV is a national pandemic, but the Sub-Saharan region is affected more than other parts of the world.
Conclusion
HIV was declared a global pandemic, creating the need for nations and health organizations to work together in determining ways of addressing the problem. Since the illness was reported, a global pandemic lots of research has been done, as well as creating awareness about the condition. The number of people dying from HIV has been reduced significantly. Most people have accepted to undergo testing, taking medication, and managing the problem. Social stigmatization has also been addressed in most parts of the world, with HIV positive people accepting their situations, taking the drugs, managing their issues, and leading a normal and healthy life.
References
Broder, S. (2010). The development of antiretroviral therapy and its impact on the HIV-1/AIDS pandemic. Antiviral research , 85 (1), 1-18.
Ceulemans, A., Bouzahzah, C., Prat, I., Urassa, W., & Kestens, L. (2019). CD4-T cell enumeration in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients: A laboratory performance evaluation of Muse Auto CD4/CD4% system by World Health Organization prequalification of in vitro diagnostics. PloS one , 14 (1), e0209677.
Einterz, R. M., Kimaiyo, S., Mengech, H. N., Khwa-Otsyula, B. O., Esamai, F., Quigley, F., & Mamlin, J. J. (2007). Responding to the HIV pandemic: the power of an academic medical partnership. Academic Medicine , 82 (8), 812-818.
Parcesepe, A. M., Mugglin, C., Nalugoda, F., Bernard, C., Yunihastuti, E., Althoff, K., ... & Nash, D. (2018). Screening and management of mental health and substance use disorders in HIV treatment settings in low‐and middle‐income countries within the global Ie DEA consortium. Journal of the International AIDS Society , 21 (3), e25101.
Piot, P. (2006). The HIV pandemic: local and global implications . Oxford University Press.
Tsasis, P., & Nirupama, N. (2008). Vulnerability and risk perception in the management of HIV/AIDS: Public priorities in a global pandemic. Risk management and healthcare policy , 1 , 7.
