Unicef: Aids tops list of teen death causes in Africa

Johannesburg - Aids is the number one cause of death among teenagers in Africa, the United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef) said on Friday.

Among HIV-affected populations, adolescents are the only group for which the mortality figures are not decreasing, the organisation said in a statement about its report titled "Statistical Update on Children, Adolescents and Aids".

"It is critical that young people who are HIV-positive have access to treatment, care and support," Craig McClure, the head of Unicef’s global HIV/Aids programmes, said in the statement.

"At the same time, those who are HIV-negative must have access to the knowledge and means to help them to stay that way."

According to the UN agency, about half of those living with HIV are in six countries - South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, India, Mozambique and Tanzania.

Aids is the second leading cause of death among adolescents globally.

Most adolescents who die of Aids-related illnesses acquired HIV when they were infants, 10 to 15 years ago, and then survived into their teenage years, sometimes without knowing their HIV status, Unicef said.

In sub-Saharan Africa, the region with the highest prevalence of the virus, girls are "vastly more affected", accounting for 7 in 10 new infections among 15-19 year olds, the agency said.

Among adolescents in that age group in the region, just over 1 in 10are tested for HIV. Since 2000, nearly 1.3 million new infections among children have been averted, largely due to advances in the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV, Unicef said.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/Unicef-Aids-tops-list-of-teen-death-causes-in-Afri-30273860.html

-- The Nation 2015-11-27

According to the UN agency, about half of those living with HIV are in six countries - South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, India, Mozambique and Tanzania.

I wasn't aware that India is in Africa.

Most adolescents who die of Aids-related illnesses acquired HIV when they were infants, 10 to 15 years ago, and then survived into their teenage years, sometimes without knowing their HIV status, Unicef said.

Now this is an interesting fact. From the headline I first thought of unprotected sex but this shines another light on it. How do they acquire HIV at infant age? And how come they live with it for 10-15 years without knowing, i.e. without treatment?

The HIV virus can be passed on to children by the mother during the birth process. It can also be passed on from breast milk. I would also imagine that the problem of vaccination and other injections do not always involve clean needles. There is no doubt some infections due to sexual activity. It should be remembered that in some areas of Africa, people believe that having sex with a virgin (often a young child) will cure AIDS.

The problem with HIV has always been the long period of time between infection and the showing up of symptoms, which can take many, many years. Infections which surface quickly tend to burn out in a reasonably short period of time, such as Ebola. Those with a much longer incubation period tend not to. That is not always the case, but it is a general tendency.

Thanks for the insight, Scott.