From the high savanna to the oil rich deltas, not only known for its beautiful landscapes, Nigeria has a total of almost 82 million people calling it home. (Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) ,2016). Nigeria, which is home to over 250 different ethnic groups, has one of the highest rates of human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) prevalence, which greatly impacts the lives of all living there (Answers Africa, 2016). HIV/AIDS is one of the most prevalent diseases in Nigeria with millions of people suffering from the disease. Being a completely preventable disease with the right education on how the infection is spread and how to get tested to see if the disease is present, one would expect this number to decrease. Unfortunately, it shows no major decrease in new cases each year.
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The quality of life is greatly affected by impacting not only the physical health of the individual but also the psychological and the emotional health of the individual and those who are closest to them.
A disease such as HIV is categorized by a virus that attacks the host body’s immune system, the white blood cells in particular. Once infected, the host will find it difficult to fight off minor infections. There are two main types of HIV, HIV-1 is the most common form and HIV-2 is found mainly in West Africa with few cases reported in Europe and India. The transfer of the virus can come in many different forms of bodily fluids such as: breast milk, blood, semen, and vaginal and anal fluids. It is a common myth to think that the HIV virus can spread through saliva, sweat, or urine, but this is not true. The most common way the virus is spread is through unprotected sex, either vaginally or anally but his is not the only way a person can become infected. Other ways that a person can become infected is by using an infected needle, syringe, or any equipment that might produce a blood transfer between someone infected to an uninfected person, or from childbirth from mother to newborn, or while breastfeeding (Avert, 2016a). Symptoms that are noticed when infected with the HIV virus are similar to those of the flu such as: fever, fatigue, and sore throat (Google, 2016). If treatment for HIV is sought and an early diagnosis, using an antiretroviral can slow the progression of the virus and people can live a close to normal and healthy life (AIDS, 2015b). When HIV is left untreated, the result is the development of AIDS but often this can take 10- 15 years to present itself (Avert, 2016a). The progression of the disease can present different symptoms those of which include fevers, night sweats, fatigue, weight loss, and recurrent infections (Google, 2016). Once AIDS is diagnosed, the immune system has been severely compromised, and the last stage of the infection is the progression to AIDS. This is where the body can no longer defend itself against infections, diseases and if nothing is done, death is likely to occur (Avert, 2016a). There are a total of almost 37 million people that are living with HIV/AIDS worldwide and of those 37 million 2.6 million of them are children who were infected by their mothers during child birth (AIDS, 2015a). 164 countries out of the total 195 are affected by the HIV/AIDS virus which means that is a global problem that impacts the majority of the people on the planet. As of 2014, Nigeria was the second highest country in regards to how many people have HIV/AIDS, coming in after South Africa (Wikipedia, 2016). Of the total 37 million infected, 180,000 deaths occur each year due to AIDS. Currently, only 40 percent of people are receiving the antiretroviral treatments which is a major increase since 2000 at 2 percent (World Health Organization (WHO), 2016). The cost of the antiretroviral treatment on average costs the individual is 19,912 dollars per year. This total value varies between what the CD4 (a specific type of white blood cell affected) cell range is, for CD4 value of 50, which is very low the average cost was 40,678 dollars per year while if the CD4 count is over 500 the average
The quality of life is greatly affected by impacting not only the physical health of the individual but also the psychological and the emotional health of the individual and those who are closest to them.
A disease such as HIV is categorized by a virus that attacks the host body’s immune system, the white blood cells in particular. Once infected, the host will find it difficult to fight off minor infections. There are two main types of HIV, HIV-1 is the most common form and HIV-2 is found mainly in West Africa with few cases reported in Europe and India. The transfer of the virus can come in many different forms of bodily fluids such as: breast milk, blood, semen, and vaginal and anal fluids. It is a common myth to think that the HIV virus can spread through saliva, sweat, or urine, but this is not true. The most common way the virus is spread is through unprotected sex, either vaginally or anally but his is not the only way a person can become infected. Other ways that a person can become infected is by using an infected needle, syringe, or any equipment that might produce a blood transfer between someone infected to an uninfected person, or from childbirth from mother to newborn, or while breastfeeding (Avert, 2016a). Symptoms that are noticed when infected with the HIV virus are similar to those of the flu such as: fever, fatigue, and sore throat (Google, 2016). If treatment for HIV is sought and an early diagnosis, using an antiretroviral can slow the progression of the virus and people can live a close to normal and healthy life (AIDS, 2015b). When HIV is left untreated, the result is the development of AIDS but often this can take 10- 15 years to present itself (Avert, 2016a). The progression of the disease can present different symptoms those of which include fevers, night sweats, fatigue, weight loss, and recurrent infections (Google, 2016). Once AIDS is diagnosed, the immune system has been severely compromised, and the last stage of the infection is the progression to AIDS. This is where the body can no longer defend itself against infections, diseases and if nothing is done, death is likely to occur (Avert, 2016a). There are a total of almost 37 million people that are living with HIV/AIDS worldwide and of those 37 million 2.6 million of them are children who were infected by their mothers during child birth (AIDS, 2015a). 164 countries out of the total 195 are affected by the HIV/AIDS virus which means that is a global problem that impacts the majority of the people on the planet. As of 2014, Nigeria was the second highest country in regards to how many people have HIV/AIDS, coming in after South Africa (Wikipedia, 2016). Of the total 37 million infected, 180,000 deaths occur each year due to AIDS. Currently, only 40 percent of people are receiving the antiretroviral treatments which is a major increase since 2000 at 2 percent (World Health Organization (WHO), 2016). The cost of the antiretroviral treatment on average costs the individual is 19,912 dollars per year. This total value varies between what the CD4 (a specific type of white blood cell affected) cell range is, for CD4 value of 50, which is very low the average cost was 40,678 dollars per year while if the CD4 count is over 500 the average