World AIDS Day December 1

World AIDS Day is an annual health campaign aimed at raising global awareness of HIV and AIDS. As well as tackling the stigma and ignorance that continues to surround HIV and AIDS, organizations such as the National AIDS Trust aim to highlight the fact that no one has been cured - despite recent advances in HIV drug treatments.

About HIV and AIDS

HIV is one of the biggest social, economic and health challenges in the world. It is a global emergency claiming over 8,000 lives every day. In fact 5 people die of AIDS every minute. HIV stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus. This is the virus known to cause AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome). If someone is HIV-positive, it means they have been infected with the virus.

A person infected with HIV does not have AIDS until the virus seriously damages their immune system, making them vulnerable to a range of infections, some of which can lead to death. HIV is transmitted through body fluids in particular blood, semen, vaginal secretions and breast milk, in fact there are only four ways you can become HIV positive.

In 2005, over 3 million people acquired HIV, which means there are now over 40 million people living with HIV and AIDS. Despite best efforts from governments, non-profit organisations and healthcare practitioners around the world, HIV and AIDS is still having huge global impact. In the UK, there are fewer people dying of AIDS but incidences of HIV in the UK. With testing and proper treatment, through anti-HIV drugs, many people in the UK are now able to halt or delay the damage caused by HIV.

How is HIV transmitted?

You can become infected with the HIV virus if you have unprotected vaginal or anal sex (without a condom), or share a needle with a person who is HIV positive. The HIV virus lives in blood, sperm and vaginal fluid.

Other routes of transmission for HIV include HIV-infected blood product or donated organs, and from mother to baby (a women who is HIV-positive may pass on the virus to her unborn child during pregnancy or birth, or while breastfeeding). It's important to point out, however, that there are a number of steps a pregnant woman can take to reduce the chance of passing on HIV to her child, and blood products and donated organs are routinely tested for HIV in the UK. HIV can't be transmitted through kissing, cuddling, shaking hands, insect or animal bites, using a public toilet or swimming pool, or by sharing food or drink.

Diagnosis and treatment

HIV is usually diagnosed using a blood test that detects antibodies to the virus. It may take up to 12 weeks after infection for these antibodies to be made, so an HIV test may initially be negative. However, all children born to infected mothers receive some of their mother's antibodies to HIV across the placenta. These may persists for up to 18 months, making antibody tests inaccurate. Newer blood tests can detect tiny quantities of the virus in the infant's blood, giving an accurate diagnosis in about 95 per cent of HIV-infected infants by three months of age.

AIDS is defined as a positive test for HIV combined with either an opportunistic infection (an infection that only occurs when your immune system isn't working properly, such pneumocystis carinii pneumonia) or an abnormally low level of a type of white blood cell called a CD4 lymphocyte (a count of 200 or less is abnormal - normal levels range from 600 to 1,000). Drug treatments, using a combination of several drugs known as highly active antiretroviral therapy, have greatly improved the outlook in AIDS. But drugs can't cure the infection and side effects and drug resistance are still a major problem. Other therapies can greatly improve quality of life.

Prevention

The risk of transmission of the HIV virus from a mother to her child can be greatly reduced by using a combination of antiviral drugs. Choosing an elective caesarean delivery and, when possible, avoiding breastfeeding may also help to reduce the risk.

Some interesting discoveries that happened this month

November 1 may be remembered for a remarkable and horrifying human achievement: For, in 1952, the U.S. detonated the first hydrogen bomb. They also set off the first underground atom bomb test on November 29, 1951. Alfred Nobel patented Dynamite on November 25, in 1867. Later, of course, he decided to institute the world's largest prize for the cause of peace.

On November 2, 2000, the first residents of the International Space Station entered. November 3 is also associated with a Space first: Laika, a Siberian husky, became the first living creature, when she was launched into orbit in 1957. Many years later, on November 13, 1971, Mariner 9 became the first spacecraft to orbit a planet other than our earth: Mars.

The construction of the Kariba High Dam across the Zambesi River began on November 6, 1956. This dam altered the pulsing (seasonal flooding cycles) caused by the river, with many associated adverse effects on the ecology and estuary downstream. The Suez Canal was opened in Egypt on November 17, 1896.

Wilhelm Roentgen discovered X-rays on November 8, in 1895. Gottlieb Daimler unveiled the first motorcycle on November 10, 1885. Patents awarded include the electrical hearing aid (patented by Miller Reese on November 15, 1901), and the first zoom lens (patented by F. G. Back, on November 23, 1948). France witnessed the first balloon flight, which took place in Paris, on November 21, 1783. The world's first tidal power station also opened in this country, on November 26, 1966. The world's first videotape broadcast was aired on November 30, in 1956.

Afghan missed to save an Innocent

It was clear from the beginning that unlike the kidnappers of three Indian workers in Iraq last year, Maniappan Kutty’s abductors didn’t want to negotiate. Despite Indian opening every channel to talk to them the kidnappers didn’t leave any call-centre number for India to reach them.

The gave a 48-hour deadline to the Border Roads Organization, a Defence ministry organization that builds strategically important roads in border areas, to abandon its work and go home. Even the abduction and the subsequent news of Kutty’s murder were conveyed through a news agency on November 22, three days after he was abducted. They weren’t after ransom money. They just wanted us out and the road work to stop. Taliban-linked violence in Afghanistan has claimed 1,400 lives, including that of Kutty, this year. Kutty, who has been with the BRO for 16 years, was abducted along with three others. The incident raised a big question about the security of India’s overseas strategic interests. The BRO was involved with the construction of the 219-km road linking Delaram in Afghanistan with Zaranj in Iran. The road will provide landlocked Afghanistan an access to the Iranian ports of Chabahar and Bandarabbas. The road is also important for India, as Iran is the only entry point for India into Afghanistan.

It was this road and not Kutty who hails form Alappuzha district in Kerala that the kidnappers were after. Though New Delhi authorized Rakesh Sood, Indian ambassador to Afghanistan, to talk to the kidnappers, no one came forward to negotiate. Since the kidnappers left no number to call, Delhi had no option but to leave it to the Hamid Karzai government in Kabul to trace Kutty or his kidnappers. The kidnappers would have spared Kutty’s life only if India abandoned all its strategic interests in Afghan. However, it also appears that the abductors overplayed their cards. Undeterred by the cowardly and brutal murder of a brave Indian, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Conveyed to President Karzai India’s unshaken resolve to assist Afghan in rebuilding the country.

On the home front, the Central government promised Kutty’s family a Rs10-lakh compensation. His children’s would get free education up to the secondary level. Kutty’s wife would get a liberalized pension for life and a job in a public-sector undertaking. (This money and pension will not give them happy; it’s very hard to live without father). Meanwhile, in Afghan, work on some stretches of the road link has been suspended because of their isolation. But officials say the project will continue. Lt.-Gen. K.S. Rao, director-general of BRO, would soon leave for Afghan to inspect of his men, which is entrusted with the governor of Nimroz.

As many as 290 Indians are working on the road project alone. Many more work in scattered projects such as education, police training, hospital and civil transport. In fact, in some places like Mazar-e-Sharif, Heart, Shebargan and Kandaher, the only decent hospitals are those run by small Indian teams of four to six doctors, nurses and paramedics.

Our Indian went to Afghansitan to help them on the Development works; it’s the duty of Afghan government to give security for them, but they have failed to give security. When the Iraq militants kidnap 3 Indians the Central government take full action for there release, but this time terrorist dint give much time to think, so they have missed to take action.

10 Tag

Visithra Tag's me

Here is mine

10 Favorites:

Season: Spring (light cool and light hot)
Sports: Tennis
Time: Early Morning
Month: January
Actor: Vijay
Actress: Trisha
Ice cream: Vanilla
Food: Green rice
Drink: Complane
Place: Chennai

9 Currents

Feeling: very happy.
O/S: Window XP.
Windows open: Beautiful Island.
Drink: nothing.
Time: 3.04pm.
Mobile used: I have no mobile.
Show on TV: India vs. South Africa cricket.
Thought: really interesting tag.
Cloth: Shirt and shorts.

8 First

First nick: Jeeva
First kiss: from mom
First crush: **** my class met.
First computer: Win98, Pentium3.
First Vehicle: Cycle.
First Job: Ad Typiest (anna sumbalamma tharala, amathitan.)
First Movie: Anjali, (I think).
First pet: Mani, street dog.
First shave: 1 year back.

7 Lasts:

Chai (tea): I don’t like tea.
Movie: Gajini.
I drove: 7 years back (cycle).
Shaved: last month.
Website visited: Visithra’s (to see the method of tag).
Software installed: Windows media player 10.
Pill I had: for cold.

6 Have you evers:

Broken the law: in my school days, (currently no).
Been drunk: no
Climbed a tree: no memory (nayabakam illai).
Kissed someone you didn’t know: change the question.
Been in the Middle/close to Gunfire or Bomb Blast: when burst crackers on Diwali.
Broken anyone’s heart: my mom’s, (for not obeying her words sometime:(, not every time).

5 Things:

You can hear right now: a television sound.
On your computer table: Headphone, Magazine, Tamil-English dictionary and a floppy disk.
On your bed: pillow, Cell phone charger (my brother’s cell), and Kumutham (tamil magazine).
You ate today: sambar rice (lunch).
In mind: If I dint start this blog, will I be happy?

4 places you have been today:

Hall
Balcony
Bedroom
Bathroom

3 people you can tell anything to

Friends.

2 choices

Black or White: Black
Hot or cold: cold

1 thing you want to do before you die.

Want to do some thing for India, to become a Developed Nation.

I like to Tag Jo and Awakeningcoma

Help Please

It has gone a month the Earthquake hit Pakistan and Jammu and Kashmir, but many people in Pakistan occupied Kashmir and J & K dint get any Relief. In Pakistan alone above 90,000 people have been died, thousands of people are injured and some are now also very series, what is the reason for very series, because they dint get proper medical treatment. They dint get any proper painkiller and medicine for infectious disease. In remote areas, people life was very pity. They have loss all there connection for the Global and live like an Island people. They dint get any food rightly, now there future is question?

The state Jammu and Kashmir is in India? I don’t know. I think, we all forget the People of J&K. And the people in Pakistan also our people, before our independence we all are Indians. Now our people are suffering in the Earthquake, they dint get proper relief. When the Earthquake attack Maharashtra in 1995 and Gujarat in 2000, when the Tsunami affect South India last year, we all give many relief to them, through Money, thinks clothes and food, Now the Quack attacked out J&K and Pakistan. What we people did for them? Nothing. This incident reminds me that we dint give much thing for our people.

When some incidents like Earthquacks, cyclones and Tsunami’s affect. The Satellite Channels and newspaper collect Relief funds and things, but now they also forget our people. Why we for get this incident? I am worried about our people, when they return to there normal life. I request all of you to help our people who are affected by earthquake, in Jammu & Kashmir and Pakistan. Please.