AIDS, Social and Ethical Implications for Business

AIDS is an acronym for acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. AIDS is associated with the presence of HIV, the human immunodeficiency virus, though all persons with HIV cannot appropriately be said to have AIDS. The United States Centers for Disease Control's (CDC's) technical descriptor of AIDS has to do with either the presence of an opportunistic infection associated with HIV or a diminution of the body's CD4 (T-lymphocyte or T-cell) count to below 200 per cubic millimeter of blood. Evidence suggests that HIV is spread through transmission of bodily fluids typically associated with intimate sexual contact and/or intravenous drug use, though cases of in utero mother-to-child transmission are both on the rise and well documented. HIV is fragile once outside the body and is therefore not transmittable through casual contact. AIDS is treatable but not curable. With proper treatment, it is not unusual for individuals to live 10 years or even longer from time of initial diagnosis with HIV, with death no longer an eventuality.

The statistics related to HIV/AIDS are staggering. Originally identified as a disease of male homosexuals in the United States, as of 2006, 65% of the total cases of HIV are in Sub-Saharan Africa. Nearly 13,000 people are newly infected every day, and less than 10% of the 40 million people living with the virus know they are infected—dramatically increasing the likelihood of their transmitting the disease to others. China, India, Russia, Ethiopia, and Nigeria are identified as second-wave countries for HIV infection. With these five regions accounting for 43% of the world's population, the potential for infection to spread is virtually without limit. It is sobering that in regions such as the English-speaking Caribbean HIV/AIDS is the leading cause of death among 15- to 44-year-olds. In general, epidemics might eventually become concentrated among economically disadvantaged populations due primarily to the fact that those who are wealthier and better educated are in a position to take preventative or curative action. As noted in the literature, throughout the world one of the greatest barriers to preventing the spread of HIV and even caring for people with AIDS is the persistent level of stigma and denial associated with the disease.