There has been a lot of talk in class about HIV and AIDS
because it is a disease that infects people worldwide. Currently there are
greater than 35 million people with HIV/AIDS. Approximately every hour 262 more
people are infected (1). If you just
google HIV and AIDS organizations or relief efforts there are lists of groups
that are focused on HIV/AIDS: PEPFAR, UNAIDS, etc. However if you were to do a
similar search for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in general without a
defined focus of HIV/AIDS there are very few organizations. While most
international focus is solely on HIV/AIDS the awareness of the prevalence and
management techniques of other STIs needs to be improved globally. Methods used
to prevent HIV/AIDS such as condom usage can also be effective in preventing
the spread of other STIs but more information needs to be given to people on
how other STIs are spread and what signs to look for (2).
STIs are a global problem. It is estimated that everyday 1
million people are infected with a STI and most of them do not show any symptoms
(3). The World Health Organization has estimated that in 2008 there were almost
500 million new cases of just four specific types of STIs: C. trachomatis (chlamydia),
N gonorrhoeae (gonorrhea), syphilis, and T. vaginalis which are all usually
cured with antibiotics (3). Currently about 530 million people have herpes
strand 2 and over 290 million women have HPV (2). These numbers are much higher
that HIV/AIDS but do not receive close to the level of attention as HIVs. The true
number of people with a STI is not known. Collecting accurate data has been
difficult. Some countries do not have the testing centers to determine if someone
has a particular disease and the fact the many times there are no symptoms to
some STIs.
STIs can have serious consequences such as infertility,
pelvic inflammatory disease, or cancer for example. Every year there are
530,000 cases of cervical cancer caused by HPV alone. If someone has a STI they
also have a three-fold increase chance of contracting HIV. A mother can pass on
STIs to children before and during delivery. It could result in many medical
problems such as pneumonia, deformities, low birth weight and death to name
just a few.
There are some treatment methods such as antibiotics,
immunization, and antiviral medication. Prevention is the best option as there
is no cure for STIs such as HIV or herpes and some bacterial infections are
starting to develop resistance to antibiotics. To prevent STIs there are two
main methods that organizations use: targeting behavior through education and
offering barrier methods such as condoms. When educating people on STIs it is
important to emphasis how they can manifest in different ways and many STIs do
not always show symptoms that can examined and evaluated by medical
professional (2). High risk groups such
as sex workers, men who have sex with men, migrant workers, and injecting drug
users have been targeted specific in countries such as India to slow the spread
of HIV/AIDS (4). Whether or not this
target approach will be effective in the long run remains to be seen.
(4) Chandrasekaran,
P., Dallabetta, G., Loo, V., Rao, S., Gayle, H., & Alexander, A. (2006).
Containing HIV/AIDS in India: the unfinished agenda. The
Lancet infectious diseases, 6(8), 508-521.
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ReplyDeleteThough STIs are common and create serious and negative health outcomes, HIV is arguably focused on due to the more devastating consequences it has. Since many STIs share similar risk factors to HIV (unprotected sex, drug use, etc.), I would propose that health programs include STIs in their educational material. Instead of simply stating that unprotected sex leaves you at risk for HIV, we can add " ... at risk for HIV, gonorrhea, chlamydia, etc.". In fact, the fear factor of so many negative diseases may outweigh the benefits of enacting on a particular health behavior. Instead of having a perceived risk of one disease, an individual may perceive they are at risk for many diseases. Greater perceived risk = greater health outcomes.
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