Lauren
Berg
SOC
420
First
Midterm
4/18/12
HIV, AIDS and Tuberculosis
The global inequality of acquired immune deficiency syndrome and
tuberculosis infections is astonishing. Most of the people who are infected with
these diseases have been infected because of an economic disadvantage. Those in
poverty are also the most in need of treatment for their illnesses, but are
unlikely to have access to it. Most developed nations give little regard
towards the people in the world who are becoming infected, not getting treated,
infecting others, and dying. The global north, prescription drug companies, and
medical professionals need to step up and help put an end to the expansive
inequalities surrounding these infectious diseases. However important money and
treatments are to putting an end to the epidemics, they will not successfully
end the epidemics unless they are accompanied with social understanding of the
problems and the dynamics of the societies.
HIV/AIDS is most typically seen in large
cities, areas with large numbers of prostitutes, areas of pronounced drug
usage, and is especially prevalent in poor parts of the world. HIV, which is
primarily spread through sexual intercourse, has prevalence rates directly related
to the sexual habits of societies. After it infects a city, it then will
typically spread into the surrounding rural areas. It has affected nearly every
region of the world, killing people everywhere it goes.
Contrary to the theories that have originated
throughout the years about the origin of tuberculosis, such as it is “triggered
by voodoo practices” or that it is “brought from the US homosexual population”,
the origin remains unknown (Farmer 2001). Tuberculosis is a very contagious disease,
in which bacteria are spread through coughing. Most people who live in
economically deprived countries, such as Haiti, are exposed to it. If the
individual who is exposed is generally healthy, they will most likely develop
immunity without the symptoms of the disease. If a healthy person does contract
the disease, it will be curable. People who already have compromised immune
systems have a much more difficult time fighting it off. People with AIDS will
get very ill if they contract tuberculosis, usually suffering from pulmonary
complications and weight loss. Tuberculosis is very difficult to cure in a
person who has AIDS, and it is often fatal.
Treatment for HIV, AIDS, and
tuberculosis exists, but not for everyone. Medical care for the poor is not
easy to come by. For example in Haiti in the eighties the “nationwide
physician-to-population ratio was 18 physicians to 100,000 inhabitants,
compared to 250 physicians per 100,000 in the United States” (Farmer 2001). On
top of the difficulty finding any medical care, the treatment cocktails for
HIV/AIDS are very expensive and a vast quantity of people cannot afford them.
Those who cannot afford them will die, often leaving behind families and
orphans. Some of those who do have access to HIV/AIDS or tuberculosis treatments
run into other complications. The long term use of drugs for these diseases
have caused the development of new strains of the infections that are resistant
to the drugs commonly used to treat them. Drug-resistant strains of
tuberculosis must be identified quickly and then treated with a newer drug, if
the patient is to live through the illness. Resistance to HIV/AIDS drugs is
very common, which is one of the reasons that make the drugs so expensive.
HIV/AIDS requires about three different cocktails of drugs that patient must
rotate approximately every six months to keep them effective.
The substantial inequality
associated with HIV, AIDS, and tuberculosis is unacceptable. Every person
should be educated about these infections, and every infected person should
have quality treatment available to them. More effort should be taken into
understanding the needs of patients in impoverished regions and making sure
that their needs are meet. With a through understanding of the infections and
the societies that they impact the most, I foresee the possibility of escaping
these epidemics.
