HIV/AIDS in the United States
Jamie Green
Grand Canyon University: NRS-427V
April 06, 2014

HIV/AIDS in the United States
Scientists identified simian immunodeficiency virus, in chimpanzees in West Africa, as the source of the mutated human virus through contact with the chimpanzee’s infected blood (U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2014). Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1) is a preventable, transmissible infection first reported in the United States (U.S.) in 1981. More than 30 years later, HIV infection continues to spread in epidemic proportion discernable by reported demographic information. The community health nurse (CHN) performs many rolls to support demographical information collection, epidemiologic research, addressing determinates of health, providing preventive services, building and collaborating with community resources while effecting change to increase the well-being of communities across the nation.
Description of Communicable Disease
Dr. Robert Gallo (U.S.) is credited with discovering the retrovirus believed to be the cause HIV/AIDS. Simultaneous research in France, by Dr. Luc Montagnier and Professor Francoise Barre-Sinousi, substantiated Dr. Gallo’s discovery. The retrovirus invades cells of the body’s immune system, incapacitating the immune response over time, eventually leaving the body defenseless against opportunistic infections (OIs). HIV is suppressible but not curable. Medications can slow viral activity for decades but, eventually, viral activity overcomes and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) ensues.
Cause
The HTLV-III retrovirus (a “slow” lentivirus in the Retroviridae family), now referred to as HIV-1 strain, is the causative agent for HIV/AIDS in the U.S. The retrovirus attaches to CD4 cells, invades the cell, replicates and ultimately renders the cell ineffective to signal other immune