AIDS Virus Essays - HIVAIDS, Signs And Symptoms Of HIVAIDS, HIV

AIDS Virus Will I live to see tomorrow? Is there a hope for the future? These are probably the most commonly asked questions among AIDS patients today. This paper delves into the heart of the AIDS topic by giving a detailed definition of the virus, risk factors associated with transmission, and the best treatment methods studied by the Centers for Disease Control, the National Institutes of Health, and other research organizations. AIDS. The word alone strikes fear into every sexually active individual. Why is this? The reason is that everyone can relate to the consequential symptoms of the disease, but not everyone knows the real meaning of AIDS. AIDS is an acronym for "Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome." The Centers for Disease Control defines AIDS as the presence of at least one of several opportunistic diseases, along with infection by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). An opportunistic disease is described as a disease that has an opportunity to occur because the immune system has been weakened. Examples of opportunistic diseases would be Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia, Kaposi's sarcoma, or toxoplasmosis. The combination of such diseases, plus HIV, deplete the complex natural defense system protecting the body from infection by viruses and microorganisms. The definition of AIDS has also been expanded to include a CD4+ T cell count less than 200 cells per cubic millimeter (mm3) of blood. AIDS is characterized by the progressive loss of the CD4+ helper cell, a type of white blood cell that helps the body fight off certain infections. This cell is also known as the T, T-helper, and T4 cells. The CD4+ cells are white blood cells that stimulate B lymphocytes to produce antibodies, lead to a severe reduction of functions of the body's immune system (immunosuppression), neurological complications, and opportunistic infections that rarely occur in persons with intact immune function. Although the precise causes leading to the destruction of the immune system have not been fully discovered, the detailed studies of epidemiology, virology, and immunology support the conclusion the HIV is the underlying cause of AIDS; hence HIV invades and destroys the CD4 cells. Primary HIV infection is often associated with as abrupt decline of CD4 cells in the peripheral blood. The decrease in circulating CD4 cells during primary infection is probably due to two factors: 1) depletion by HIV, and 2) to redirect cells to the lymphoid tissue and other organs. The median period between the infection of HIV and the onset of clinically apparent disease is approximately 10 years in western countries, according to prospective studies of homosexual men. This period also applies to HIV-infected blood transfusion recipients, injection drug users, and adult hemophiliacs. In 1981, clinical investigators in New York and California observed among young, previously healthy, homosexual men a strange clustering of cases of rare diseases, notably Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) and opportunistic infections such as Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP), as well as cases of unexplained, persistent lymphadenopathy. It soon became evident that these men had a common immunologic deficit- the impairment in cell mediated immunity, resulting from a significant loss of CD4 cells. The widespread development of KS and PCP in young people with no previous history of disease was unusual. After detailed studies and searches of autopsy records, medical history books, and tumor recordings, results showed that KS and PCP had only occurred at very low levels in the United States previously. KS, Kaposi's sarcoma, is a skin neoplasm that affected older men, cancer, or transplant patients undergoing immunosuppressive therapy. Before AIDS became a big issue, the only reports of KS in the United States were 0.02 to 0.06 per 100,000 population. In addition, the disease was generally found in certain parts of Africa among younger individuals. By 1984, men in San Francisco were found 2,000 times more likely to develop KS! By 1994, at least a whopping 36,693 patients with AIDS had been reported. This shows how fast the spread of the disease takes place. PCP, Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia, a lung infection caused by a pathogen, was extremely rare before 1981. Taken from a survey in 1967, only 107 cases had been reported and documented in medical literature. In that same year, the Centers for Disease Control became the sole supplier in the US of pentmidinne isthionate- the only recommended PCP therapy at that time. The CDC began collecting data on each PCP case diagnosed and treated. In 1981 alone, 42 requests for the drug were received for patient treatment. As an example of how fast this disease was spread, note the following: the CDC had reported 127,626 individuals with AIDS in the US

Why Ming China Ended the Treasure Fleet Voyages

Why Ming China Ended the Treasure Fleet Voyages Between 1405 and 1433, Ming China sent out seven gigantic naval expeditions under the command of Zheng He the great eunuch admiral. These expeditions traveled along the Indian Ocean trade routes as far as Arabia and the coast of East Africa, but in 1433, the government suddenly called them off. What Prompted the End of the Treasure Fleet? In part, the sense of surprise and even bewilderment that the Ming governments decision elicits in western observers arises from a misunderstanding about the original purpose of Zheng Hes voyages. Less than a century later, in 1497, the Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama traveled to some of the same places from the west; he also called in at the ports of East Africa, and then headed to India, the reverse of the Chinese itinerary. Da Gama went in search of adventure and trade, so many westerners assume that the same motives inspired Zheng Hes trips. However, the Ming admiral and his treasure fleet were not engaged in a voyage of exploration, for one simple reason: the Chinese already knew about the ports and countries around the Indian Ocean. Indeed, both Zheng Hes father and grandfather used the honorific hajji, an indication that they had performed their ritual pilgrimage to Mecca, on the Arabian Peninsula. Zheng He was not sailing off into the unknown. Likewise, the Ming admiral was not sailing out in search of trade. For one thing, in the fifteenth century, all the world coveted Chinese silks and porcelain; China had no need to seek out customers - Chinas customers came to them. For another, in the Confucian world order, merchants were considered to be among the lowliest members of society. Confucius saw merchants and other middlemen as parasites, profiting on the work of the farmers and artisans who actually produced trade goods. An imperial fleet would not sully itself with such a lowly matter as trade. If not trade or new horizons, then, what was Zheng He seeking? The seven voyages of the Treasure Fleet were meant to display Chinese might to all the kingdoms and trade ports of the Indian Ocean world and to bring back exotic toys and novelties for the emperor. In other words, Zheng Hes enormous junks were intended to shock and awe other Asian principalities into offering tribute to the Ming. So then, why did the Ming halt these voyages in 1433, and either burn the great fleet in its moorings or allow it to rot (depending upon the source)? Ming Reasoning There were three principal reasons for this decision. First, the Yongle Emperor who sponsored Zheng Hes first six voyages died in 1424. His son, the Hongxi Emperor, was much more conservative and Confucianist in his thought, so he ordered the voyages stopped. (There was one last voyage under Yongles grandson, Xuande, in 1430-33.) In addition to political motivation, the new emperor had financial motivation. The treasure fleet voyages cost Ming China enormous amounts of money; since they were not trade excursions, the government recovered little of the cost. The Hongxi Emperor inherited a treasury that was much emptier than it might have been, if not for his fathers Indian Ocean adventures. China was self-sufficient; it didnt need anything from the Indian Ocean world, so why send out these huge fleets? Finally, during the reigns of the Hongxi and Xuande Emperors, Ming China faced a growing threat to its land borders in the west. The Mongols and other Central Asian peoples made increasingly bold raids on western China, forcing the Ming rulers to concentrate their attention and their resources on securing the countrys inland borders. For all of these reasons, Ming China stopped sending out the magnificent Treasure Fleet. However, it is still tempting to muse on the what if questions. What if the Chinese had continued to patrol the Indian Ocean? What if Vasco da Gamas four little Portuguese caravels had run into a stupendous fleet of more than 250 Chinese junks of various sizes, but all of them larger than the Portuguese flagship? How would world history have been different, if Ming China had ruled the waves in 1497-98?