The HIV/AIDS epidemic has been affecting our world's population for decades. What makes this such a scary disease is that throughout this time, no cure has been discovered. However, the medical field has made great advancement in treating the disease. While medicine allows many diagnosed people to live relatively normal lives, many people in rural areas and countries can't afford the treatment, or don't even have access to it. This website goes into more detail about the disease and how it can be analyzed through an anthropological approach.
I chose to write about HIV/AIDS because I have had a lot of experience involving this disease. Because of my father’s work I know a great deal about how this disease operates and how it is treated. I have met many people affected by the disease, and I find it extremely interesting that there is such a wide range of severity of the disease, and so many different ways in which people cope with it. Although I know a lot about the biological side of HIV/AIDS, studying it through an anthropological approach provides much more information on how it affects those diagnosed with the disease as well as our population as a whole.
AIDS, or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, is clinically defined as “a chronic, potentially life-threatening condition caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)” (Mayo clinic). HIV is a retrovirus that weakens your immune system by destroying important cells that fight disease and infection, more specifically your T-cells or CD4 cells. HIV invades them and uses them to make more copies of itself, and then destroys them, leaving your immune system impaired. Because your immune system is compromised, you are much more susceptible to other illnesses, such as the flu, and they can be much more harmful than if you did not have HIV. AIDS is the final stage of HIV infection. You are considered to have AIDS if you have one or more specific opportunistic infections or very low number of CD4 cells. Opportunistic infections include herpes, tuberculosis, lymphoma, and many others. However, not all people who have HIV progress to AIDS. They can be treated using antiretroviral therapy, which keeps the level of HIV DNA in your cells low, so that you can maintain a healthy level of CD4 cells.
It is important to consider non-medical factors as well when studying illness, because diseases such as HIV/AIDS affect people’s lives tremendously. While a medical doctor may be aware of the fact that having this disease can alter one’s entire life, an anthropologist would look more at how society, culture, and human experiences define the disease. Anthropologists study diseases through different approaches, which all have a few things in common. Anthropologists study diseases on the premise that illness and healing are basic human experiences influenced by both culture and biology, and that the human body and symptoms are interpreted through cultural beliefs and assumptions. Examining how HIV/AIDS is dealt with throughout the world through these beliefs can help us to understand much more about how it is really affecting those with the disease, as well as the human race as a whole.
Sources:
"HIV/AIDS." Definition. Accessed August 6, 2014. http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/hiv-aids/basics/definition/con-20013732.
"Week 1: Lecture 1." ANP 204 Introduction to Medical Anthropology Summer 2014 Week 1 Lecture 1 Comments. Accessed August 7, 2014. http://anthropology.msu.edu/anp204-us14/schedule/week-1-lecture-1/.
"What Is HIV/AIDS?" What Is HIV/AIDS? April 29, 2014. Accessed August 7, 2014. http://aids.gov/hiv-aids-basics/hiv-aids-101/what-is-hiv-aids/.
I chose to write about HIV/AIDS because I have had a lot of experience involving this disease. Because of my father’s work I know a great deal about how this disease operates and how it is treated. I have met many people affected by the disease, and I find it extremely interesting that there is such a wide range of severity of the disease, and so many different ways in which people cope with it. Although I know a lot about the biological side of HIV/AIDS, studying it through an anthropological approach provides much more information on how it affects those diagnosed with the disease as well as our population as a whole.
AIDS, or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, is clinically defined as “a chronic, potentially life-threatening condition caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)” (Mayo clinic). HIV is a retrovirus that weakens your immune system by destroying important cells that fight disease and infection, more specifically your T-cells or CD4 cells. HIV invades them and uses them to make more copies of itself, and then destroys them, leaving your immune system impaired. Because your immune system is compromised, you are much more susceptible to other illnesses, such as the flu, and they can be much more harmful than if you did not have HIV. AIDS is the final stage of HIV infection. You are considered to have AIDS if you have one or more specific opportunistic infections or very low number of CD4 cells. Opportunistic infections include herpes, tuberculosis, lymphoma, and many others. However, not all people who have HIV progress to AIDS. They can be treated using antiretroviral therapy, which keeps the level of HIV DNA in your cells low, so that you can maintain a healthy level of CD4 cells.
It is important to consider non-medical factors as well when studying illness, because diseases such as HIV/AIDS affect people’s lives tremendously. While a medical doctor may be aware of the fact that having this disease can alter one’s entire life, an anthropologist would look more at how society, culture, and human experiences define the disease. Anthropologists study diseases through different approaches, which all have a few things in common. Anthropologists study diseases on the premise that illness and healing are basic human experiences influenced by both culture and biology, and that the human body and symptoms are interpreted through cultural beliefs and assumptions. Examining how HIV/AIDS is dealt with throughout the world through these beliefs can help us to understand much more about how it is really affecting those with the disease, as well as the human race as a whole.
Sources:
"HIV/AIDS." Definition. Accessed August 6, 2014. http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/hiv-aids/basics/definition/con-20013732.
"Week 1: Lecture 1." ANP 204 Introduction to Medical Anthropology Summer 2014 Week 1 Lecture 1 Comments. Accessed August 7, 2014. http://anthropology.msu.edu/anp204-us14/schedule/week-1-lecture-1/.
"What Is HIV/AIDS?" What Is HIV/AIDS? April 29, 2014. Accessed August 7, 2014. http://aids.gov/hiv-aids-basics/hiv-aids-101/what-is-hiv-aids/.