H 312: A look back

Coming into AIDS and STI's class the first time, I was pretty naive. I took the class because it fulfills a bacc core requirement and just wanted to go to class, and pass, and not necessarily learn during that process. So I definitely had the wrong attitude going into this class.

But the fact is there is a lot of information that one could learn by taking this class, and most of it is really important that can really help you down the line. I learned a lot about the different diseases that i was not even aware of coming into this class. Also some of the prevalence numbers that I was shown are staggering especially in a disease like HPV that affects a lot of people in a college environment. Having Bob Skinner, a real life patient of AIDS, was something I did not expect to hear from and learn in this class. It was the first time i had ever heard from a real life AIDS patient, so this was a good experience. The most useful thing that i learned is the way to prevent myself from contracting any disease. This will come in handy now in my life and later down the line. I think everything that was taught in this class was very important and none of it was not useful. Therefore I think the structure of the class is great and nothing should really be changed.

This is obviously a very important and crucial topic to be taught at any university. The promiscuity that exists in a college environment is very high and people need to know how to prevent contracting diseases and how to treat them once they have one.

AIDS Presentation

When Bob Skinner came to our class and hosted a guest lecture, i did not know what to expect. I know its crazy, but i have never really talked to or heard from someone that knew they had the AIDS disease. So it gave me a real insight about the life of an AIDS patient. You can imagine i learned alot about AIDS and how it affects someone in their daily life. With AIDS, daily life is not so bland anymore, it sucks. I learned that there is a huge cost that goes along with the stigma that one gets in society. No one has money to pay $3000 a month just for treatment that is required, especially in this economy. Also the stigma that one faces on a daily basis and the perception people have of an AIDS patient is not very positive.

Bob's experience is much different here in the US compared to people all around the world especially in those in sub-Saharan Africa. The research and treatment that exists here in the US is much much better than in places like third world countries. People in the US usually are wealthier so access to treatment is better. The route that HIV is transmitted in the rural regions is through heterosexual contact. In these rural areas prevention is not taught as much therefore more people are uneducated about HIV/AIDS. Sexism and inequality between women and men exists and plays an important role in that as well.

Education and treatment are very difficult things to have usually in rural regions. This comes back to the economics of rural areas. It is harder to reach these areas with education as well as treatment. Mass media plays a small role and so the only education you can get is through going to school. But what if you don't even go to school? Then your really not getting any education. It's pretty hard to get treatment in rural areas.

HIV Theories

The Conspiracy Theory- Of course, the conspiracy theory. There always has to be a conspiracy theory for everything, from 9/11 to i guess HIV. What the heck?? Why do people always want to find some weird and disturbing way to prove something. The conspiracy theory as it relates to HIV states that was manufactured as part of a biological warfare programme, designed to wipe out large numbers of black and homosexual people. I think this is completely ludicrous and has no backbone to stand on. There is no evidence and no smoke so no fire. Get off the conspiracy theories people!!!

The 'Hunter' Theory- The hunter theory is the most commonly accepted theory on how HIV was born. SIV was transferred to humans as a result of chimps being killed and eaten or their blood getting into cuts or wounds on the hunter. This is very plausible because you could see how interaction with wild animals, especially chimps, could really birth a new disease in humans that was never seen before.

I think that out of these two theories the Hunter theory is by far the more believable one. I have a strong opposition to conspiracy theories as it relates to anything.

I don't see the grave importance in finding out where the disease started and to try to pinpoint and develop a cure that way. I think our resources should all be put into finding a cure for HIV and not looking into the past of how it might have infiltrated the population. I think it would nice to know and interesting for people studying the virus but i do not think it is necessary.

White Privilege

Peggy McIntosh in her paper about White Privilege brings up many great points about how people view race today and more importantly racism. Even I some time agree with the point that racism exists only in individual acts of meanness, not in invisible systems conferring dominance on my group. But the fact of the matter is that racism more than that. Racism is to some degree engraved in our culture especially in places like the deep south, where young people were taught a certain way and were made to think a certain way. The fact that people seem to give the benefit of the doubt, it seems, always to the "white" man is in fact racist. Whether your applying for a job, or trying to get into a university, or even in daily life, it seems like as Caucasians we seem to have the upper hand on things.

One point i will contradict is the fact that we have started to change the corner. We mandate a fair hiring process these days and we have laws that protect from racist acts. I think the big hurdle we need to cross now is individual feelings and ideas that need to be altered. When we can do that on an individual basis, this country will be better for it.

I don't know that privilege of any kind really affects the spread or treatment of AIDS. One thing it could have an effect on is the education of the disease. But that seems like a more social issue than a race issue unless the two directly correlate. I think it is important to address larger groups and systems of oppression when it comes to sexual health. Like i said, i think the social factor/economic factor has alot to do with the education of health all around. Hopefully we can come to a point in our country where everyone can be taught how to protect themselves.

AIDS: Will there ever be a cure???

AIDS stands for: Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. It means exactly what it says. It's a disease that attacks the body's immune system and damages it to the point where the body is susceptible to various diseases. Currently there is no cure, and only treatment. Its usually transmitted sexually or by using common needles that have the disease. AIDS can lead to death, and if not treated, it will. What i know about it right now is that it is very prevalent in the Homosexual community. Chemotherapy is the treatment that one goes through to try to alleviate the disease. Chemotherapy is the treatment of disease by chemicals that kill cells.

The information I have gathered on AIDS has usually come from the media or from sources outside of any health class. This has probably also made me correlate AIDS with homosexual activity, because that's what I was taught and what I learned.

One of the biggest things i want to learn about AIDS is how come there hasn't been a cure yet for the disease? Will there ever be a cure? Are we wasting our money and resources trying to find a cure and trying to research AIDS? Does anyone know where exactly the disease started spreading? (I know this would be virtually impossible to pinpoint)

Some of the surprising information that I've learned over the past week on AIDS includes the stigma that came with the disease, the discrimination of the disease (women), and the impact and prevalence the disease has on young women. I did not know that originally the stigma that came with the disease was so strong. If you had the disease, it was assumed that you were partaking in homosexual activity. The way women were treated in South Africa also surprised me a lot. They were taking measures to prevent the disease and they were the ones that were blamed for contracting the disease. But what was truly shocking was the percentage of young women that had the disease. Women aged 15-24 make up 60% of new HIV cases. Those statistics are pretty staggering.

But the real question remains. Will there ever be a cure for this killing machine of a disease??? We can only hope...

More Than Just Regionality...

Looking across the world at where most STI's and disease in general are prevalent and you might see a disturbing trend. Most disease, from a geographical sense, seems to occur in the southern hemisphere of the world. Regions like Sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia, and South America. One might conclude that culture and region are the main factors in determining how likely a particular disease is. But you have to dig a little deeper to find the real cause.

The real cause is social and economic status. That is what it really comes down too. Look across the globe. Disease is rampant in third world countries. Countries struck with poverty and constant war are the ones that are affected greatly. Also resources, which ties into economic status, is another major issue when it comes to treatment. Why does it seem like here in the US and in Europe the prevalence of disease is lower than in Congo or Cambodia? Resources, treatment, and doctors. That's what makes the key difference. Also education is another part of the problem. Here in the US we second guess education and sometime think of it as unimportant. In Africa, without the proper education, how are they going to protect themselves? How will they know what will hurt them and what can protect them when they have never been taught? Its a dilemma that has a major domino effect.

I think we here in America take a stronger and more educated approach to disease and prevention than poorer region across the world. This obviously shows up in the statistics of disease and STI prevalence.

Condom Wins, AIDS Fails

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCLUY9G69gs

Looking around YouTube for a good STI ad was a very fun and easy task. The first couple ads i looked at were OK, mildly funny. Then i stumbled across an older MTV ad that depicted a Condom vs. AIDS battle. It was a hilarious video. The main theme of the video is to show that the Condom beats Aids. There are three scenes. The first scene depicts both the Condom and AIDS calling for an animal. A falcon comes to the Condom, while a goat comes to AIDS, point for Condom. The second scene depicts a food contest between the two with the judge loving what the Condom has to offer, point for Condom. The last scene depicts the two playing pool against each other. On the Condom's first shot, he sinks all 9 balls, Condom wins. HAHA.

There is no real true information that is conveyed in the ad. The ad tries to use humor to show that the Condom can defeat AIDS. There is no fear used in the ad, just humor. The ad, in its humorous nature and the fact that its on MTV, is clearly aiming to persuade the young teenage population. I think the ad was genius to target young people and was very successful.

I think the media can be very powerful in changing the perception and adding gravity to AIDS and STI's in general. Since young people so much of there time watching T.V. and browsing the Internet. The media is a very powerful tool.

A day to remember and an apology...

The Tuskegee study was another in the long line of injustices committed against African Americans in this country. Like former President Clinton pointed out in his apology, it is definitely a time we would like to forget in the great history of this country. I think it was a great show of President Clinton's character to come out and give such a masterful apology speech. Obviously it does not make up for the lives lost and the hardships endured but it does show that we have matured as a society. One of the greatest lines in Clinton's speech was: "The people who ran the study at Tuskegee diminished the stature of man by abandoning the most basic ethical precepts. They forgot their pledge to heal and repair. They had the power to heal the survivors and all the others and they did not. Today, all we can do is apologize." Looking at the health aspect of the Tuskegee study it was extremely unethical because patients were not informed that they were participating in an experiment; spinal taps were presented as treatment, when in actuality treatment was withheld and even actively prevented; and the contagious nature of the disease was concealed. But since that time, we have come a long way as a country.

Today was the inauguration of the first African American President in history. This is a landmark day in the fight for equality for all races of mankind. I felt like the last two days have been amazing in the fact that yesterday we celebrated Dr. Martin Luther King's 80th birthday and remembered what a great figure he was and his dream for equality. And to see it come to fruition today must send chills down most peoples spines. We have come a long way from duping African Americans to be part of a clinical study that was not so clinical in many respects. As Americans we should be proud today, but not forget that there is still work to be done...

Bio terrorism: Smallpox

Smallpox was once a disease that was used in warfare. Before the discovery of a smallpox vaccine it was frequently used as a weapon. The podcast on this topic shed some light on the various times in history when smallpox was used to gain an advantage in warfare. The podcast continues and outlines one of the programs that was started up by the soviets which sort of reintroduced smallpox as a potential weapon. This is a very startling development. The podcast goes on to point out how ironic it is that a once eradicated disease in line with the discontinuation of worldwide vaccination have opened the door for this virus to be once again used as a weapon.

The link between bio terrorism and public health is a very tricky, and scary one. The threat of diseases such as anthrax and smallpox in recent years has been heightened. Smallpox being used in bio terrorism would drastically affect public health and would be just as disastrous and effective as nuclear warfare. I do believe that it is of concern that smallpox can be used again as a weapon. I think bio terrorism overall is something that needs to be looked at and monitored very closely by the government, more specifically The Department of Homeland Security.