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AIDS In Africa
HIV/ AIDS originated in Africa in the early 20th century and is a major public health concern and cause of death in many African countries. AIDS rates vary significantly between countries, though the majority of cases are concentrated in Southern Africa. Although the continent is home to about 15.2 percent of the world's population, more than two-thirds of the total infected worldwide – some 35 million people – were Africans, of whom 15 million have already died. Sub-Saharan Africa alone accounted for an estimated 69 percent of all people living with HIV and 70 percent of all AIDS deaths in 2011. In the countries of sub-Saharan Africa most affected, AIDS has raised death rates and lowered life expectancy among adults between the ages of 20 and 49 by about twenty years. Furthermore, the life expectancy in many parts of Africa is declining, largely as a result of the HIV/AIDS epidemic with life-expectancy in some countries reaching as low as thirty-nine years. Countries in Nor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
HIV In Africa
The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive. Without treatment, average survival time after infection with HIV is estimated to be 9 to 11 years, depending on the HIV subtype. In most cases, HIV is a sexually transmitted infection and occurs by contact with or transfer of blood, pre-ejaculate, semen, and vaginal fluids. Non-sexual transmission can occur from an infected mother to her infant during pregnancy, during childbirth by exposure to her blood or vaginal fluid, and through breast milk. Within these bodily fluids, HIV is present as both free virus particles and virus within infected immune cells. Research has shown (for both same-sex and opposite-sex couples) that HIV is untransmittable t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Management Of HIV/AIDS
The management of HIV/AIDS normally includes the use of multiple antiretroviral drugs as a strategy to control HIV infection. There are several classes of antiretroviral agents that act on different stages of the HIV life-cycle. The use of multiple drugs that act on different viral targets is known as highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). HAART decreases the patient's total burden of HIV, maintains function of the immune system, and prevents opportunistic infections that often lead to death. HAART also prevents the transmission of HIV between serodiscordant same sex and opposite sex partners so long as the HIV-positive partner maintains an undetectable viral load. Treatment has been so successful that in many parts of the world, HIV has become a chronic condition in which progression to AIDS is increasingly rare. Anthony Fauci, head of the United States National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has written, "With collective and resolute action now and a st ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kaposi's Sarcoma
Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) is a type of cancer that can form masses in the skin, in lymph nodes, in the mouth, or in other organs. The skin lesions are usually painless, purple and may be flat or raised. Lesions can occur singly, multiply in a limited area, or may be widespread. Depending on the sub-type of disease and level of immune suppression, KS may worsen either gradually or quickly. Except for Classical KS where there is generally no immune suppression, KS is caused by a combination of immune suppression (such as due to HIV/AIDS) and infection by Human herpesvirus 8 (HHV8 – also called KS-associated herpesvirus (KSHV)). Four sub-types are described: classic, endemic, immunosuppression therapy-related (also called iatrogenic), and epidemic (also called AIDS-related). Classic KS tends to affect older men in regions where KSHV is highly prevalent (Mediterranean, Eastern Europe, Middle East), is usually slow-growing, and most often affects only the legs. Endemic KS is most co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cryptococcal Meningitis
Cryptococcosis is a potentially fatal fungal infection of mainly the lungs, presenting as a pneumonia, and brain, where it appears as a meningitis. Cough, difficulty breathing, chest pain and fever are seen when the lungs are infected. When the brain is infected, symptoms include headache, fever, neck pain, nausea and vomiting, light sensitivity and confusion or changes in behaviour. It can also affect other parts of the body including skin, where it may appear as several fluid-filled nodules with dead tissue. It is caused by the fungi ''Cryptococcus neoformans'' or less commonly '' Cryptococcus gattii'', and is acquired by breathing in the spores from the air. These fungi are found around the world in soil, decaying wood, pigeon droppings, and in the hollows of some species of trees. Whereas ''C. neoformans'' infects generally people with HIV/AIDS and those on immunosuppressant drugs and does not usually affect fit and healthy people, ''C. gattii'' (found in some parts of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Democratic Republic Of The Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in Central Africa. It is bordered to the northwest by the Republic of the Congo, to the north by the Central African Republic, to the northeast by South Sudan, to the east by Uganda, Rwanda, and Burundi, and by Tanzania (across Lake Tanganyika), to the south and southeast by Zambia, to the southwest by Angola, and to the west by the South Atlantic Ocean and the Cabinda exclave of Angola. By area, it is the second-largest country in Africa and the 11th-largest in the world. With a population of around 108 million, the Democratic Republic of the Congo is the most populous officially Francophone country in the world. The national capital and largest city is Kinshasa, which is also the nation's economic center. Centered on the Congo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kinshasa
Kinshasa (; ; ln, Kinsásá), formerly Léopoldville ( nl, Leopoldstad), is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Once a site of fishing and trading villages situated along the Congo River, Kinshasa is now one of the world's fastest growing megacity, megacities. The city of Kinshasa is also one of the DRC's Provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, 26 provinces. Because the administrative boundaries of the city-province cover a vast area, over 90 percent of the city-province's land is rural in nature, and the urban area occupies a small but expanding section on the western side. Kinshasa is Africa's third-largest metropolitan area after Cairo and Lagos. It is also the world's largest nominally Francophone urban area, with French being the language of government, education, media, public services and high-end commerce in the city, while Lingala is used as a ''lingua fr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Congo River
The Congo River ( kg, Nzâdi Kôngo, french: Fleuve Congo, pt, Rio Congo), formerly also known as the Zaire River, is the second longest river in Africa, shorter only than the Nile, as well as the second largest river in the world by discharge volume, following only the Amazon. It is also the world's deepest recorded river, with measured depths around . The Congo- Lualaba- Chambeshi River system has an overall length of , which makes it the world's ninth-longest river. The Chambeshi is a tributary of the Lualaba River, and ''Lualaba'' is the name of the Congo River upstream of Boyoma Falls, extending for . Measured along with the Lualaba, the main tributary, the Congo River has a total length of . It is the only major river to cross the Equator twice. The Congo Basin has a total area of about , or 13% of the entire African landmass. Name The name ''Congo/Kongo'' originates from the Kingdom of Kongo once located on the southern bank of the river. The kingdom in turn was nam ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sangha River
The Sangha River, a tributary of the Congo River, is located in Central Africa. Geography The Sangha River is formed at the confluence of the Mambéré River and the Kadéï River at Nola in the western Central African Republic. () The Sangha flows along the border of Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west- central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; th ..., with the Central African Republic, and then the Republic of Congo. It joins the Congo River at The tributaries of the Sangha River include the Ngoko River (Dja river). Its river mouth and confluence with the Sangha is at Ouésso, in the Republic of the Congo. (). Ecology The Sangha River is a Freshwater ecoregion of Africa. Its wetlands in the Central African Republic, Cameroon and Congo are protected Ramsar sites. References External link ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Primate
Primates are a diverse order (biology), order of mammals. They are divided into the Strepsirrhini, strepsirrhines, which include the lemurs, galagos, and lorisids, and the Haplorhini, haplorhines, which include the Tarsiiformes, tarsiers and the Simiiformes, simians (monkeys and apes, the latter including humans). Primates arose 85–55 million years ago first from small Terrestrial animal, terrestrial mammals, which adapted to living in the trees of tropical forests: many primate characteristics represent adaptations to life in this challenging environment, including large brains, visual acuity, color vision, a shoulder girdle allowing a large degree of movement in the shoulder joint, and dextrous hands. Primates range in size from Madame Berthe's mouse lemur, which weighs , to the eastern gorilla, weighing over . There are 376–524 species of living primates, depending on which classification is used. New primate species continue to be discovered: over 25 species were d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
HIV-1
The subtypes of HIV include two major types, HIV type 1 (HIV-1) and HIV type 2 (HIV-2). HIV-1 is related to viruses found in chimpanzees and gorillas living in western Africa, while HIV-2 viruses are related to viruses found in the sooty mangabey, a vulnerable West African primate. HIV-1 viruses can be further divided into groups M, N, O and P. The HIV-1 group M viruses predominate and are responsible for the AIDS pandemic. Group M can be further subdivided into subtypes based on genetic sequence data. Some of the subtypes are known to be more virulent or are resistant to different medications. Likewise, HIV-2 viruses are thought to be less virulent and transmissible than HIV-1 M group viruses, although HIV-2 is also known to cause AIDS. One of the obstacles to treatment of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is its high genetic variability. Major types HIV-1 HIV-1 is the most common and pathogenic strain of the virus. Over 2 million such infections occur annually. Scientists ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Central Chimpanzee
The central chimpanzee or the tschego (''Pan troglodytes troglodytes'') is a subspecies of chimpanzee closely related to the other great apes such as gorillas, orangutans, and humans. The central chimpanzee can be found in Central Africa, mostly in Gabon, Cameroon, Republic of Congo and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Central chimpanzees are considered highly intelligent apes. They are also highly social living in large groups and follow a male dominant hierarchy. The activity budgets of this chimpanzee subspecies changes depending on if they were in the wild or in sanctuaries. They have been observed using tools, this could be to open nuts or using twigs to gain access to ants and termites. Central chimpanzees have a key role in the ecology of rainforests, they play an important role as seed dispersers. Even though central chimpanzees and western lowland gorillas overlap the environment in which they live in they do not compete for food as their diets are different. Acc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cameroon
Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west- central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Its coastline lies on the Bight of Biafra, part of the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean. Due to its strategic position at the crossroads between West Africa and Central Africa, it has been categorized as being in both camps. Its nearly 27 million people speak 250 native languages. Early inhabitants of the territory included the Sao civilisation around Lake Chad, and the Baka hunter-gatherers in the southeastern rainforest. Portuguese explorers reached the coast in the 15th century and named the area ''Rio dos Camarões'' (''Shrimp River''), which became ''Cameroon'' in English. Fulani soldiers founded the Adamawa E ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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