World AIDS Day, December 1: history

To date, a disease such as AIDS is known in every corner of the globe. It is rightly called a large-scale epidemic, a plague of the 20th and 21st centuries, which really threatens humanity. Every year on December 1, the whole world celebrates the day of the fight against AIDS. This is not just another significant date in the calendar, but a day of sorrow for millions of people who died from this incurable disease.

Statistics

Today, more than 42 million people living in various parts of the world suffer from a deadly virus that causes a person to lack immunity. Every day about 15 thousand people fall into the category of patients. The AIDS Day, December 1, is designed to stop this terrible statistics and reduce the spread of the epidemic around the world.

Scary find

As already mentioned, people celebrate the World AIDS Day on December 1 each year. The history of this disease is about 35 years. In 1981, AIDS or AIDS was first recorded in the United States of America, the cause of which is the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). After that, an emergency meeting of health leaders from all over the world took place, at which an agreement was reached to exchange information on HIV / AIDS and respect for social tolerance.

Some scientists blame the appearance of HIV monkey, which infected this terrible human virus in the 20's. The last century. As a result of recent scientific research, it was found that West Africa was the focus of the epidemic. In 1959, the first person died of AIDS in the world. In any case, this was recorded for the first time. The inhabitant of the Congo was the carrier of the virus. Ten years later, symptoms of the disease were found in women in the United States of America. At that time, scientists did not attach any importance to this, believing that prostitutes were sick with pneumonia. After another nine years, in 1978, the pockets of localization of this epidemic were recorded all over the world - in the USA, Tanzania, Haiti and Sweden.

And three years later, the official Center for the Control and Prevention of Diseases officially recognized the existence of HIV and AIDS. At the same time, the lion's share of patients was homosexual. At that time, 440 carriers of the virus, provoking a lack of immunity, were found in America. Half of these people died.

Origin of the disease: discoveries of physicians

Scientist Michael Gottlieb came to the conclusion that the cause of the disease is a strong defeat of the internal organs of the body responsible for immunity. In 1982, AIDS began to be called the disease of the four English letters "H" on the basis that most of the immune deficiency virus was affected by homosexuals, Haitians, as well as drug addicts stabbing heroin and patients suffering from hemophilia.

It is noteworthy that the presence of reduced immunity was previously recorded in children born before the term. However, medical research has shown that people with AIDS suffered from acquired immunodeficiency virus, but not innate.

The virus origin of the disease was discovered by a scientist from France - Montagnier. In 1983, he found a virus in the lymph nodes of a person suffering from AIDS, which was called LAV.

A year later, Robert Gallo, who heads the Institute of Virology of the University of Maryland, issued a statement in which it was reported that a real cause of the disease was found. His research consisted in isolating the virus from the patient's blood. The isolated retrovirus was called HTLV-III and was the same as LAV.

In 1985, scientists came to the conclusion that the virus of immunodeficiency is transmitted to a person through blood, breast milk and sexually. Thanks to the developed test, donor blood was checked for the first time for the presence of the immunodeficiency virus.

Another discovery shocked the world in 1986. Together with his colleagues Montagnier discovered a new virus that was discovered in Guinea-Bissau and the Cape Verde Islands. Comparative analysis showed that both viruses are completely different, different from each other, caused by different pathogens, having a different course of the disease and symptomatology. It was proved that both viruses existed for a long time, in particular, before the spread of the AIDS pandemic.

AIDS Day - December 1

In 1987, the official statement of the World Health Organization was announced , which reported that the causative agent of such a terrible disease as AIDS, is a virus that causes a lack of immunity in humans. In the same year, a program and strategy was developed and adopted, providing for a number of activities aimed at combating this terrible disease. One of them was the introduction of the drug "Azidothymidine", designed to fight the virus.

World AIDS Day was celebrated on December 1 for the first time in 1988. This date symbolizes the unification of the efforts of all people living on planet Earth in the fight against this terrible tragedy. The organization of ongoing activities implies first of all support of preventive measures and maximum access to information about this disease. Many countries around the world not only on the day of December 1 - World AIDS Day, but also before and after it conduct all sorts of activities aimed at fighting AIDS.

The world-famous symbol of a pandemic

Today, most people know a symbol such as a red ribbon. On the day of the fight against AIDS on December 1, millions of people are fastening it on clothes as a sign that they understand how terrible the consequences of this disease can be.

Red ribbon was invented in 1991 by artist Frank Moore. The idea of creating it was borrowed from neighbors who wore yellow ribbons. Thus, they expressed their hope for the speedy return of their daughter, who was serving in the Persian Gulf.

During the military conflict, green ribbons appeared on the territory of the Gulf, reminiscent of the shape of the letter V. They symbolized the bitterness of loss caused by the killing of children in Atlanta. As a result, the New York artist decided that the ribbon can also become a symbol of the fight against AIDS. The red ribbon is not just a fashionable attribute today, but a peculiar, secret slogan saying that December 1 is the World AIDS Day - a plague of two centuries. This is a terrible, incurable disease, and its causes must be fought.

Professional marketers and artists have developed a whole concept for the introduction of this symbol as a metaphor for activities aimed at preventing this disease. Officially, the project "Red Ribbon" was launched in 2000 at the 45th official ceremony of the Tony Awards. Its participants and nominees pinned the red ribbon with an English pin to the clothes in a sign of understanding, sympathy and hope for a future without AIDS. Most of all then everyone wanted to see the red ribbons worn by all inhabitants of the planet Earth on World AIDS Day, December 1.

Hopes were fully justified. After a short time, the red symbol became very popular and was almost an obligatory part of decoration in many social events. This was not prevented by fierce opponents of preventive measures, which were also numerous at that time.

HIV and AIDS: what is the difference

Often, these two concepts are called synonyms. However, this is fundamentally wrong. AIDS means an immunodeficiency in the human body. There are many different reasons for this. Among them, severe, long-lasting, chronic diseases, radiation, congenital malformations, age-related changes in the body, potent medicines and medicines. Modern medicine refers to AIDS as the penultimate stage of the defeat of the immunodeficiency virus.

HIV is characterized by a special method of destruction. The infection spreads very quickly and causes an acute shortage of immunity, which, in turn, provokes malignant tumors, other infections and secondary diseases.

Transmission paths

The AIDS Day, December 1, is a terrible year for millions of people who are often careless about themselves and their health. The main way of penetrating the virus into the human body is the blood. To become a carrier of the virus can be and at sexual intercourse, especially often it occurs at homosexual contacts. Also, the mother who has this virus can pass it to the baby in the womb, through the placenta, when the child passes through the birth canal, feeding with breast milk. Dangerous in this regard, and personal care items, such as a razor, toothbrush and other similar items. Airborne droplets, as well as feces and urine are not vectors of the virus.

There are several ways to get the virus into the human body - through damage to the skin, as well as through the mucous membrane during medical procedures or body diagnostics, fertilization of the egg in an artificial manner, narcotic injections or tattooing.

In most countries of the world millions of booklets telling about the ways of transmission of the virus are printed. They are distributed free of charge on World AIDS Day on December 1. Prevention is the main lever in the fight against this infection.

Risk group

The most common disease affects homosexuals, as well as people leading an immoral lifestyle. Another category is drug addicts using intravenous drugs. The overwhelming majority of sick children have contracted the disease from their mothers, who are sick with AIDS, have HIV. The second place in the infection is occupied by children who received blood transfusions. Infection is exposed to medical personnel specializing in contact with blood and other fluids of people with HIV or AIDS.

In this case, the virus can doze in the human body for 10-12 years. Initial symptoms are often attributed to other, less dangerous diseases and do not attach special importance to them. However, it should be understood that in this case, without proper medical care, HIV passes into the last stage - AIDS.

Conclusion

December 1 - International AIDS Day. This date annually calls the entire world community not only to remember this incurable disease, but also to be tolerant of those who already carry this disease. And, most importantly, what each of the people living on the planet must understand for themselves is to understand that prevention is very important in the struggle for health.