MEN in Barbados have continued to outnumber women in terms of the number of new cases of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) related deaths.
According to data collected by the National HIV Surveillance (NHS) of the Ministry of Health, Barbados, statistics show that twice as many men than women were diagnosed with HIV in 2010 and this has been the trend since HIV was first diagnosed in Barbados.
The total number of HIV diagnoses for 2010 was 135 with 90 of those cases being men and 45 women. The number of people who developed AIDS in 2010 was 43, with 31 cases being men and 12 being women. In Barbados 37 people died from HIV/AIDS complications in 2010. There were 24 males compared to 13 females.
Since 1984 when the first HIV case was recorded in Barbados, there have been 3 426 HIV cases recorded of which 2 144 have been male and the remaining 1 282 were female. Of these cases, 2 219 developed into AIDS and there were 1 508 HIV Deaths, leaving 1 908 people living with HIV in Barbados at present.
The statistics also show that mostof the HIV and AIDS diagnoses were occurring within the 40 to 49 age groups. The age group with the highest infection rate was the 40 to 49, which had 42 of the 135 cases of HIV infections for 2010. In comparison, there were 36 infections in the 30 to 39 age group and 30 infections in the 20 to 29 age group, while the 50 to 59 age group recorded 17 infections.
The NHS had released an HIV/AIDS surveillance report in 2008 and the report for 2010 is expected to be completed in another two months.
Anton Best, Senior Medical Officer of Health with the HIV/AIDS Programme Unit of the Ministry of Health, said that data was collected from the entire health sector as all testing for HIV was done at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital laboratories, and therefore all of the newly diagnosed cases were documented with the unit in addition to demographical data.
Best said that it had been recognized that there was a trend of more men testing positive for HIV and steps had been taken to tackle that concern.
“Surely we need to develop a programme just for men, but we do not have the capacity to develop a stand alone health programme,” Best said.
He explained that nationally there were a lot of men’s health programmes and individuals from the unit went into the clinics and gave talks about good sexual health, partner reduction and the importance of condom use.
The HIV virus is best understood by breaking down the acronym HIV. H – Human, this means that the virus can only infect human beings. I – Immunodeficiency, this means that HIV weakens the immune system by destroying important cells that fight disease and infection. V – Virus, a virus can only reproduce itself by taking over a cell in the body of its host.
The Human Immunodeficiency Virus is like other viruses, including those that cause the “flu” or the common cold. However, HIV differs because over time the immune system can clear most viruses out of the body but with HIV the human immune system cannot clear it out.
HIV has an incubation period of 1 to 25 years but symptoms usually show within ten years of exposure. There are no generally known symptoms, however HIV weakens the immune system causing AIDS.
As the body becomes too weak to fight off diseases, the early symptoms of AIDS develop.
A – Acquired, means that it is something that you can catch or contract. I – Immune, your body’s immune system includes all the organs and cells that work to fight off infection or disease. D – Deficiency, this is when your immune system is deficient, or isn’t working the way it should, and S – Syndrome, which is a collection of symptoms and signs of disease. AIDS is a syndrome, rather than a single disease, because it is a complex illness with a wide range of complications and symptoms.
AIDS is the final stage of HIV infection and people at this stage of HIV disease have badly damaged immune systems, which put them at risk for opportunistic Infections (OIs). A doctor will give the AIDS diagnosis when an individual has one or more specific OIs which are certain cancers or a CD4 count of less than 200.
A person gets HIV when an infected person’s body fluids such as blood, semen, fluids from the vagina, and breast milk enter their bloodstream.
The virus can enter the blood through linings in the mouth, anus, or sex organs, or through broken skin. Individuals have a higher risk of getting HIV if they have unprotected sex, this means vaginal or anal intercourse without a condom, or oral sex without a latex barrier with a person infected with HIV.
If individuals share needles to inject drugs or steroids with an infected person, the disease can also be contracted.
Also, a mother can pass on HIV to her baby through breast feeding.
However, you cannot get HIV from touching or hugging someone who has HIV/AIDS, sharing public bathrooms or swimming pools, cups, utensils, or telephones with someone who has HIV/AIDS.