LET’S NOT FORGET AIDS, WHİCH is STİLL a MAJOR HEALTH ISSUE in the WORLD!
According to research, in 2018, 37.9 million people were infected with AIDS, and 770,000 people died. Two-thirds of the cases were in Africa and the Middle East. One reason for the high incidence of the disease is the lack of education, which leads to insufficient protection. Another reported reason is the delay in treatment due to the patient’s denial or efforts to keep the symptoms secret even when they are apparent.
HIV affects the immune system by weakening it. It targets immune cells named CD4 or T cells, and it is treated with a method called antiretroviral therapy (ART). When this treatment is delayed, bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites take the opportunity to settle in the human body, easily creating secondary diseases and increasing the severity of the condition. The most common secondary clinical conditions are pneumocystis pneumonia, candida infections, tuberculosis, cytomegalovirus, cryptococcal meningitis, toxoplasmosis, herpes simplex infection, salmonella, and other infections.
In this context, immediately visiting a laboratory for testing for sexually transmitted diseases after suspected sexual contact, which is the most common mode of transmission, will enable awareness, early diagnosis, and treatment.