Chronic and Communicable Diseases-HIV/AIDS
HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis (TB) are all significant global health challenges, each with its own complexities and impacts on populations worldwide. While HIV/AIDS remains a pandemic due to its ongoing prevalence and impact, malaria and TB also contribute substantially to the global burden of disease, particularly in certain regions. HIV/AIDS is caused by HIV (human immunodeficiency virus), which weakens the immune system, thus increasing one’s susceptibility to infections and other diseases. Despite significant progress in prevention, treatment, and awareness efforts, HIV/AIDS remains a major global health concern due to its persistence, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa and other resource-limited settings.
Malaria and TB are diseases mostly prevalent in developing countries. Most TB human infections are asymptomatic and become latent, while only about 10% become active disease (Harris, 2019: 673). However, HIV/AIDS significantly increases the risk of developing active TB disease among individuals infected with the TB bacteria. HIV weakens the immune system’s ability to contain latent TB infection, allowing the bacteria to multiply and cause active TB disease. People with HIV/AIDS are more likely to develop TB, and they are also at higher risk of developing more severe forms of TB, such as disseminated or extrapulmonary TB, which can affect multiple organs beyond the lungs (Harris, 2019: 678). TB is a leading cause of death among individuals with HIV/AIDS, and the co-infection of HIV and TB presents significant challenges in diagnosis and treatment due to the overlapping symptoms and interactions between the two diseases.
The same case applies to malaria infections. HIV/AIDS weakens the immune system, particularly the T cells that fight infections (Roberds et al., 2021: 4). When someone with HIV becomes infected with malaria, their debilitated immune system may struggle to control the malaria parasites effectively (Harris, 2019). As a result, individuals with HIV/AIDS have an increased risk of severe malaria, which can result in complications like cerebral malaria (affecting the brain), severe anemia, organ failure, and death. Additionally, HIV/AIDS can also impair the response to antimalarial treatment, making it less effective in clearing the malaria parasites from the body. Overall, HIV/AIDS exacerbates the severity of malaria and TB by impairing the immune system’s ability to control these infections, leading to increased susceptibility to severe complications and poorer treatment outcomes.
References
Harris, R. E. (2019). Epidemiology of chronic disease: Global perspectives. Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Roberds, A., Ferraro, E., Luckhart, S., & Stewart, V. A. (2021). HIV-1 impact on malaria transmission: A complex and relevant global health concern. Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology, 11, 656938.
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Chronic and Communicable Diseases-HIV-AIDS
HIV/AIDS is still considered a pandemic disease due to its continued existence throughout the various populations in the world. How do malaria and TB figure into this dilemma?