Heather ClarkEco 111Term PaperThe Economic Impact of HIV/AIDS on AfricaNorthern Maine Community CollegeEconomics 111, Fall Semester 2014Thursday, December 4, 2014Scientists have identified a chimpanzee in West Africa as a source of HIV infection in humans. The chimpanzee version of the virus called simian immunodeficiency virus, or SIV, is believed to have most likely spread to humans and mutated into HIV when humans came into contact with infected blood. (CDC, 2014) Over decades, the virus spread across Africa and subsequently to other parts of the world. HIV is a lent virus, it attacks the immune system. HIV stands for human immunodeficiency virus. There are two types of HIV: HIV-1 and HIV-2. HIV-1 is more easily transmitted and is the cause of the vast majority of HIV infections worldwide. HIV-2 is less transmissible and is largely confined to West Africa. (CDC, 2014) The HIV virus kills white blood cells that help fight infections. These cells are called CD4 cells. Hive cells increase while CD4 cells decrease. AIDS is defined as acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, the most advanced stage of the HIV virus. Where the immune system has become so damaged that it makes you vulnerable to infections. CD4 cells dropped below 200 cells/mm3. Without treatment people typically survive 3 years. Within 2-4 weeks of infection many develop flu-like symptoms. After the acute phase of HIV infection, the disease enters a phase called the "clinical latency" phase. During this phase, people infected with HIV have mild or no symptoms. The virus continues to reproduce at low levels. If your immune system becomes severely damaged, the virus has entered the AIDS stage. (CDC, 2014) It was in Kinshasa in the 1970s that t...... middle of paper ......DS in sub-Saharan Africa. (March 20, 2014). Retrieved November 28, 2014, from http://www.avert.org/hiv-aids-sub-saharan-africa.htmIMPACT ON AGRICULTURE. (n.d.). The impact of AIDS. Retrieved November 29, 2014, from http://www.un.org/esa/population/publications/AIDSimpact/8_Chap_V.pdfDixon, S., Mcdonald, S., & Roberts, J. (2002, January 26). Retrieved November 29, 2014, from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1122139/Isaksen, J. (2002). Socioeconomic effects of HIV/AIDS in African countries. Collins, D., & Leibbrandt, M. (2007, January 1). The financial impact of HIV/AIDS on poor families. Retrieved November 29, 2014, from http://www.financialdiaries.com/files/CollinsLeibbrandtAIDS217.pdfEsburg, J. (2012, March 10). Increased condom use leads to dramatic declines in infection rates. Retrieved November 28, 2014, from http://www.economist.com/node/21550001