Hiv Prevention And The Prevalence Of Human...

Running head: HIV PREVENTION IN PAPUA NEW GUINEA AND AUSTRALIA 8 HIV Prevention in Papua New Guinea and Australia Diana L. Brown HCM350 – History of Healthcare Worldwide Colorado State University – Global Campus Dr. Evelyn Shinn April 30, 2015 The emergence of Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) and the prevalence of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) in the early 1980s initiated widespread global panic, but not every nation took action to combat the pandemic. Control of this relatively young disease process has been addressed in different ways in countries worldwide. Depending on the cultures of the region or the political system in place, some have made tremendous strides to reduce infection†¦show more content†¦A research specialist for the CDC, Dr. James Curran, stated in July of 1981 that no cases have been reported to date outside the homosexual community or in women (Altman, 1981). That may have been the case in that moment of time, but much changed over the course of only a few months. Between July and December of 1981, another population was identified as suffering from the illness that had no name. This was the population of injecting drug users (IDU) and it was no longer limited to the United S tates, as Great Britain had its first reported case in that same month (AVERT, 2015). With the HIV/AIDS outbreak achieving a trans-continental status, efforts were ramped up to identify the source of transmission. By the end of 1982, reports of cases with similar symptoms were coming from several European countries, Uganda, and Haiti which reflected the widespread nature of the situation (AVERT, 2015). In just one year, the number of cases reported in the United States alone went from 41 to 452 and from just 2 states affected to 23 (CDC, 2015). It became a global health concern due to the wasting effects and rapidity of onset to death. Finally identified as being a blood borne pathogen, AIDS became the name and transmission linked to exposure to blood by sexual relations, needle sharing, and even blood transfusion. By October 1983, the World Health