Three Ways To Minimize The Spread Of

Aids In The United States In 2000 Essay, Research Paper

Three Effective Ways to Minimize the Spread of the AIDS

Virus to Every American in the United States in 2000

Since the first case were identified in the United States in 1981, AIDS has

touched the lives of millions of families. In almost two decades, the problems created by

AIDS has been consisting in the United States. There are three problems drastically

influence the people in the United States. First, AIDS makes the AIDS patients repelled

by the society and lost their families, friends, lovers, and work For instance,

in Florida, Broward County parents packed school meetings and teachers

filed aclass action grievance saying a student?s presence endangered their

health. District officials determined that the 17-year-old mentally handicapped

boy with AIDS would be educated by a teacher in an isolated classroom in the

school. (J. Stine 291).

Moreover,

in California, a young man arrived home one evening to find that the locks had

been changed. A few days later he discovered that everything he had ever

touched had been thrown out, such as clothes, books, bed sheets, and tooth-

brush. The day before he had told his friends he had AIDS. Overnight, he had

no friends, slept on park benches, stole food, passed bad checks, and no one

would come near him. (291).

Second, it makes the AIDS patients paid high cost of treatment from initial infection

through death. ?The combination anti-HIV therapy cost $12,000 to 18,000 a year. The

many other medications the patients with advanced AIDS may need for related

conditions could raise the bill to $70,000 a year.? (K. Altman). Many others may have to

pay out of pocket if the private health insurance plans will cover cost of some AIDS

patients. Moreover, the cost of new treatment still on increasing. Therefore, it is really

hard for the poor people to afford this bill. Last, AIDS is the fifth leading cause of death

among American between 25-44-years-old.

The spread of AIDS in the United States has historically resisted and continues to

resist attempted solution. In the present time, nobody has found where was the AIDS

actually come from. But the countries of the world showing the highest rates of infection

are located in south-central Africa.

Epidemiological studies have confirmed that HTLV-III spread first in Africa

and is endemic in Zaire, Burundim Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzaniz, and Kenya.

with the rise of urbanism and jet travel in south-central Africa, the virus spread

rapidly from city to city throughout Central African, into Haiti, and 4 percent of

gay men in North American by the late 1970?s. (A. Feldman 5)

?On June 5, 1981 the first cases of the illness now known as acquired immunodeficinecy

syndrome were reported from Los Angeles in five young homosexual men diagnosed

with Pneumeocystis carinii pneumonis and other opportunistic infections.?(J. Stine xxxii)

Then, the people infected with AIDS virus increasing year by year. In almost two

decades, the World Health Organization, Food and Drug Administration, U.S.

Department of Public Health, and more organization have been tried many solution to

minimize the spread of AIDS in the United States only with a minimal success. These

programs included a school AIDS education, promotion of abstinence, promotion of

condoms, and safer sex. For instance, the public school AIDS education programs that

have been designed to refuse pregnancy and the spread of STDs among teenagers.

?However, data from a variety of high school sex education classes offered across the

country indicate that teenagers are learning the essential facts but they are not practicing

what they learn and what they know.(298). Moreover, risky sexual behavior is

widespread among teenagers and has resulted in high rates of STDs. ?Over 25% of the 20

million STD cases per year occur among teenager.?(298). In addition, promotion of

abstinence is the surest way to avoid contraction AIDS, but it is very hard to practice in

today?s sexually charged environment. It is because ?the young people themselves often

feel sex is an important step to maturity; most adults think it is essential to a romantic

and intimate relationship.?(Garwood). Also, the promotion of condom program in college

may actually encourage sexual activity rather than discourage it. ?Overall of these

programs have reduced new HIV infection by 33 percent.?(A. Feldman 226). That is not

enough to minimize the spread of AIDS in the United States. If we want to have a more

effective result, more organizations, foundations, and donors should involved the new

program and research. Therefore, the researchers can get enough budget for a research.

Since many solutions have been tried with only a minimal success in the United

States, there are three alternative solution for this problem can be considered. The first of

the alternative solution is the public health officials can target on a few of ethic and age

groups that have the largest amount of AIDS and the main factor getting AIDS in the

United States in order to respond the solution. It is because United States is the largest

subculture country in the global. Therefore, we cannot to use the same method to

different ethic and age groups. The second of the alternative solution is the development

of AIDS vaccine.

Scientist are attempting to design three types of vaccines: (1) a preventive

or prophylactic vaccine to protect people from becoming HIV-infected,

analogous to classic virus vaccine such as those for measles and polio;

(2) a therapeutic vaccine for those who are already infect with HIV to

prevent them from progressing to AIDS : and (3) a perinatal vaccine for

administration to pregnant HIV-infected women to prevent transmission

of the virus to the fetus. (J. Stein 174).

The last of the alternative solution is a female use a condom instead of male because ?the

AIDS cases in women were twice times more than the AIDS cases in men in the United

States.? (Stolberg) Thus, female needs to use a condom in order to avoiding the AIDS

cases increasing rather than a male. A female condom is a safe and effective substance

that can be inserted into the vagina in a foam, gel, sponge or other form to kill or prevent

it from infecting cells in the body.

First, the public health officials can target on the ethnic and age groups that have

the largest amount of people infected with AIDS and the main factor getting AIDS in the

United States in order to respond the solution. It is a feasible to work for this solution.

For instance, ?AIDS is now the leading cause of death between age 25- 44 years old and

over half of thiese deaths are injection related among of the African Americans and

Hispanics in the United States.?(Elder). Also, ?Seventy percent of all injection-related

AIDS cases among African Americans and Hispanics have been reported in the last five

years.?( Day). The main reason is these two ethic groups of injecting drug users are

likely to sharing their dirty needles and injecting illicit drugs. Therefore, we have to get

started with the clean-needle programs for the among of African Americans and

Hispanics who is a drug user in the United States. ?Clean-needle programs cost between

$40,00 and 12,000 for persons who inject drugs over a five-year period.?(Elder). This is

far lower that the estimated ?$119,000 life time cost of treating an HIV-infected

person?.(Elder). Since only ?small harm-reduction organizations funded by small

foundation grants?(Elder) are not enough, the injecting drug users must pay the full cost

of clean-needle programs by themselves. The clean-needle programs have been

?endorsed by the American Public Health association and the American Medical

Association, as well as other associations concerned with our nation?s health.?(Elder).

?The harm-reduction organizations will carry out the solution.?(Elder). Their work is

giving out the clean needles and collecting the dirty ones. The risks involved for this

solution is this such program will encourage and increase the injecting drug users. ?A

result in Italy, the decrease of among AIDS cases related drug injection from 70 percent

to 56 percent when the clean-needle started.? (J Stein 169). The second solution is the

development of AIDS vaccine. It is a feasible to develop an AIDS vaccine, but the

?vaccine is not one hundred percent effective.? (K. Altman). Moreover, the experts

cannot have the full-scale tests should be conducted until the laboratory and animal

research shows a solid scientific understanding of how an experimental vaccine work.

Recently, test of the AIDS vaccine go into full scale testing in the United States. ?The

project has spent at least 639 million on developing of AIDS vaccine since the first day

of the project started? (G. Weniger) and ?$200 million annually on research the vaccine.?

( Richardson). But the cost of developing of AIDS vaccine will be depends on how long

the scientist could create the effectiveness of the vaccine are vastly reduce the chance

having AIDS. The Federal Government and the Food and Drug Administration will 100

percent cover of the cost of the AIDS vaccine. This project needed more volunteers to

involve for the vaccine tests. ?The VaxGen vaccine was involved 1,200 volunteers

beginning in March 1992.? ( K. Altman). Recently, ?5,000 volunteers are involved a new

vaccine test over the next four years in up to 40 clinics in the United States and Canada.?

(K. Altman). However, the largest amount of money have spent for AIDS vaccine, but

too many experts expressed doubt about the vaccine?s effectiveness. Thus, the only risk is

the large amount of money being used and the result of AIDS vaccine may not effective

on AIDS patients. Many scientists said that ? the little confidence that the vaccines would

protect sufficiently large proportion of recipient.? (K. Altman). The last alternative

solution is female use a condom instead of male. It is a feasible for female to use

condom. ?The female condom is cost $2.25 for each? ( Smother) and this cost is much

expensive than the male condom, but the female condom is much safer and has stronger

texture than the male condom It is because the female condom used with ?a

nonoxynol-9? ( J. Stein 165) for additional protection against HIV/AIDS in the event of

displacement , breakage, or leakage. However, ?the currently Medicaid does not cover

this device, as it does the male condom, spermicide, and barrier, but Medicaid coverage

is expected in 1999/2000.? (165). The World Health Organization had the capabilities

necessary to carry out the solution. The greatest risk for this solution is the money being

wasted because the women built-in resistance to use the condom when they have sex.

Nevertheless, from research, ?nearly seven million of female condom have been

distributed in the 34 counties in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, and the device is

gaining acceptance among women.? (G. McNeil Jr).

In my opinion, the best of the alternative solution will be the female condom

since the AIDS cases in women were twice times more than the AIDS cases in men in the

United States. Therefore, the spread of AIDS will be minimize in the United States when

we can persuade more women to use the female condom. However, the first step to make

more women to use the female condom frequently as well as men do, we have to lower

the cost of the female condom. Moreover, women need to make their important decision

by themselves to wear the condom and do not let the men make the decision because

men do not like the way they feel when they have sex. So, we have to put more effort on

this solution to come out a more positive result.

?Nearly seven million of female condom have been distributed in the 34 counties

in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, and the device is gaining acceptance among women.?

(G. McNeil Jr). Moreover, more men are being used to it and feel better than they wear

the male condom. Also, ?no breakage or leakage of female condom have report so far in

these counties.? ( G. McNeil Jr). It is because the female condom is safer and stronger

than the male condom at preventing the infection. Therefore, female condom is the best

way I think to minimize the spread of AIDS in the United States by 2000.

A. Feldman, Douglas. The AIDS Crisis. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.1998.

Day, Dawn. ?The Spread of Drug-Related AIDS Among African Americans and

Latinos.? New York Times (18 Nov. 1996): n.pag. on-line. Internet. 19 Sept.1999.

Available WWW:http://www.aclu.org/extra/dogwood97.html.

G. Weniger, Bruce. ?Clearing the Way for an AIDS Vaccine.? New York Times (4 Jan.

1997): n.pag. on-line. Internet. 19 Sept. 1999. Available