History

 Scientist traced the origin of HIV to the 1930's but the actual diagnosis of AIDS was not recognized until 1981. HIV stands for human immunodeficiency virus.

It is a virus that does not have the ability to reproduce on its own it needs other cells in a living organism to be able to be reproduced. The first Canadian death that was related to AIDS happened in 1983 and approximately 21,000 people have died since then according to the public health agency of Canada.

The virus was first recognized in the Canadian Gay male population and in people that were infected through blood supply. This disease has now spread to other demographics. Even though it is still predominantly in the male gay population, women, prison inmates, aboriginal people and the youth have been diagnosed with it.

The infection occurs in the following stages; “//Acquisition of infection, primary HIV infection, asymptomatic HIV infection, early symptomatic HIV infection, Late symptomatic HIV infection, Advanced HIV disease.”(Manbir online, 2007)//

The acquisition stage may occur through sexual contact, use of unsterilized needles, blood transfusions, tattoos etc. The primary infection stage is when the individual develops rashes, fever, diarrhea, vomiting etc. These usually seem like regular symptoms so until the person is tested they may not know that they have the disease because the initial symptoms are not out of the ordinary.

The asymptomatic stage is when the individual has no knowledge of the disease because they do not display any symptoms and this stage usually lasts about 10 years.

The early symptomatic stage is when some symptoms start to appear and the individual gets symptoms like fever, unexplained weight loss, re-occurring diarrhoea, headaches etc. The late symptomatic stage is when the individual's risk of developing AIDS becomes high and they get severe symptoms such as pneumonia, tuberculosis etc.

The advanced disease stage is the final stage when it migrates to the full blown AIDS and the individual develops several infections. In 1997, the AIDS related deaths experienced a decline by over forty percent due to HAART (highly active anti-retro viral therapy) There has been significant progress over the past years in finding vaccines and cures and there are several drugs out there that people living with HIV can take. The important thing is to get tested and know your status before it gets too late.