You have 72 hours!!

When infected you have 72 hours to change your fate!!!

Did you know Gauteng is the province in South Africa with the highest HIV infection rate with about 1/3 of the province being infected.

Worldwide:
* Over 22 million people have died from AIDS.
* Over 42 million people are living with HIV/AIDS, and 74 percent of these infected people live in sub-Saharan Africa.
* Over 19 million women are living with HIV/AIDS.
* By the year 2010, five countries (Ethiopia, Nigeria, China, India, and Russia) with 40 percent of the world's population will add 50 to 75 million infected people to the worldwide pool of HIV disease.
* Kevin Bacon There are 14,000 new infections every day (95 percent in developing countries). HIV/AIDS is a "disease of young people" with half of the 5 million new infections each year occurring among people ages 15 to 24.
* The UN estimates that, currently, there are 14 million AIDS orphans and that by 2010 there will be 25 million.
http://www.until.org

When individuals are potentially exposed to HIV through sexual assault or occupational exposure, a programme of several antiretroviral drugs may be taken to prevent infection. PEP treatment needs to be commenced within 72 hours of the exposure, although there is evidence to suggest that the sooner the person commences treatment the greater the benefits.

Why take PEP?

It is generally accepted that the average risk of a person contracting HIV from:
* a single act of penetrative sexual intercourse is 0.1% (or 1 in a 1000 incidences)
* a single act of anal intercourse is 0.1%- 0.5% (or 1-5 per 1000 incidences)
* a needle stick injury is 0.3% (or 3 per 1000 incidences)

However, factors such as the viral load of the infected blood, the amount of fluid involved and the nature of the injury (or sex) can affect the risk factor.

Despite the low risk of contraction through a single exposure, rape survivors and health workers do have a right to post-exposure prophylaxis.

Availability

PEP is theoretically available at all public sector hospitals and clinics. However, a 2004 report by Human Rights Watch found that "government failure to provide adequate information or training about PEP or clear messages in support of PEP significantly undermined access to this lifesaving service. Police, health professionals, and counselors working with rape survivors often lacked basic information about PEP, as did rape survivors themselves. As a result, many rape survivors did not get PEP simply because the various agencies charged with providing these services did not know that they existed."


http://www.journaids.org