Abstract
The HIV pandemic has hit humanity with devastating power and its effects are evident even after forty years of intensive and successful fight against the virus. and until then completely healthy people. At the time, no one could have guessed that the disease would lead to the discovery of a new epidemic that would spread rapidly around the world, affecting over 60 million people over the next 40 years, half of which would be fatal.
Due to the originally unknown cause and impairment of the immune system, this condition has been termed AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome). His prognosis was fatal at the time.
Three years later, in 1984, two teams of researchers almost simultaneously discovered the viral cause of a new disease and it was called HIV (human immunodeficiency virus). Thanks to intensive research, especially in the field of treatment, over time, the disease, with an average survival of several months, has become a successfully treatable chronic disease, which currently may not significantly reduce the life expectancy of infected people.
The Czech expert prof. Antonín Holý from the Institute of Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic.
According to United Nations statistics, 1.7 million people were newly infected in 2019 and more than 38 million people worldwide lived with this disease. However, only approximately 26 million people receive regular antiretroviral treatment.
A total of 3,801 HIV-positive people were detected in the Czech Republic between 1985 and 2020. However, the actual number of infected people can only be speculated.
Despite long-term prevention programs, the increase in the number of infected cannot be stopped. The report on the detection of HIV infection will significantly affect the lives not only of a sick person, but often also his surroundings.
In the Czech Republic, health care for people with HIV is concentrated in eight specialized centers. With the increase in the number of infected and at the same time the prolongation of their lives, health care for these people extends to most medical areas.
Even today, contact with HIV-positive people sometimes raises concerns on the part of staff providing health or social services. We present a book that was created by a number of leading Czech experts and aims to provide all readers interested in HIV issues with current and relevant information..
Knowledge of key facts will make it easier for professionals to provide adequate care and can prevent stigmatization or discrimination against people living with HIV in lay people. The monograph deals with the following topics: Diagnosis, epidemiology of infection, pathogenesis, clinical picture, course of the disease and dispensary care, therapy, nursing care for HIV positive and life with HIV infection; prevention of transmission of HIV infection, pre-exposure prophylaxis, post-exposure prophylaxis of HIV, sexually transmitted infections in HIV-positive persons, psychological aspects of the disease in HIV-positive persons; the issue of HIV infection from a legal perspective.