Alas, HIV & AIDS has penetrated our community. So far the MAB has received 110 cases (see table below) of whom most have died. This however is a tiny fraction of what the real figures are. MAB estimates that over a thousand people in our Khoja Shia Ithna-Asheri Muslim Community world-wide are affected by HIV & AIDS at the moment. This is a conservative figure. Other doctors working closely with our community put prevalence to 3%.
Now, marriages are ending up in divorce and engagements are being broken because one of the partners is HIV positive.
Now in our communities:-
-AIDS is being passed on to children from their mother.
- Aids is being passed on to the offspring.
- Marriages are ending in divorce and engagements are being broken because one of the partner is HIV Positive.
| YEAR | NUMBER OF PATIENTS PER YEAR | CUMULATIVE TOTAL NUMBER OF PATIENTS TREATED |
| 1991 | 2 | 2 |
| 1992 | 6 | 8 |
| 1993 | 8 | 16 |
| 1994 | 13 | 29 |
| 1995 | 17 | 46 |
| 1996 | 19 | 65 |
| 1997 | 21 | 86 |
| 1998 | 24 (UP TO APRIL, 1998) | 110 |
1. The first fact about AIDS is that AIDS is now a fact of life. Too many people still think of it as a disease which "other" people contract.
2. Society's reaction to AIDS have varied from shock and fear to complacency. As we are a close knit community, HIV and AIDS is a particularly important issue. No doubt, strict adherence to Islamic teachings will save us from this dangerous disease.
3. As yet there is no cure for HIV (which leads to AIDS) so there is only one way to combat the disease. That is to prevent it from spreading. AIDS kills. Once infected, always infected.
4. AIDS is a world-wide problem amongst people of all ages. Early cases were found in drug abusers, blood transfusion patients and people who practised high risk sexual activities such as homosexuals and prostitutes. But now HIV is being spread through conventional sex - between men and women.
5.HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) is the name of a virus that can damage the body's immune system. The immune system fights off illness, and if the body's defences are severely weakened this can lead to AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome). AIDS is the name for a collection of different diseases which can cause serious illness or death in both adults and children.
6. In adults, a test for HIV antibodies will not produce a positive result until at least 3 months after infection and this is called the "window" period. It is important to remember that even though a test result may be 'negative' during the "window" period, a person can be infectious at this stage, if they have HIV. People who develop AIDS become ill from a variety of problems which they cannot fight off and from which they eventually die. Two illnesses which commonly affect AIDS patients are a type of pneumonia called Pheumocystis Carinii, and a form of cancer which attacks the skin called Kaposi's Sarcoma. DEATH OCCURS WITHIN 3 YEARS OF GETTING AIDS.
How is HIV Transmitted
+ through unprotected vaginal or anal intercourse with an infected man or woman;
+ by infected blood entering the blood stream through sharing injection needles, transfusion of infected blood or blood products, intravenous drug users (those who take injections regularly for pleasure), needle injuries, etc. Check if blood or blood products are screened in your country.
+ from a woman with HIV to her baby either during pregnancy, or during delivery.
WHO IS AT RISK?
People who:-
a) Have sexual intercourse with an infected man or woman.
b) Use intravenous drugs.
c) Share injection needles.
d) Have a transfusion with infected blood or blood products.
e) Have frequent sexual intercourse with many partners.
f) Have sexual intercourse with prostitutes.
g) Indulge in prohibited sexual behaviour e.g. homosexual intercourse, oral sex, anal sex, etc.
h) Are born to infected mothers.
PREVENTION
1.The Islamic life style - chastity before and fidelity within a marriage - is a safeguard against acquiring this disease. Live within the bounds of The Islamic Shariah and adhere to the injunctions prohibiting homosexuality and extramarital sexual relations. Despite the alarming aspects of this illness it is reassuring to know that we have the ability to choose to avoid AIDS and the answer lies in 'living within the precincts of the moral code' as prescribed by Islam and upholding the values of chastity and morality. Being faithful to ones wife or husband is the best way of prevention.
2. If your use a condom use it correctly. Use water based lubricant gel with the condom. Oil based gel can weaken the rubber.
3.Remember - many signs and symptoms of AIDS coincide with wide variety of illness and therefore early medical help should be sought where suspicion arises.
4. Have screened blood transfusion. Except in life threatening conditions, a blood transfusion for any purpose should be refused unless it has been guaranteed to have been screened for HIV. Where in doubt, it is always advisable to arrange donors within family or community whose health status is known.
5.Don't use intravenous drugs. Do not share your needles, syringes, mixing bowls etc., if you happen to use intravenous drugs.
6.Do not share razors, toothbrushes and towels.
7.Do not share Zanjeers or go too close to the user.
1. Before you quit smoking, try wrapping your cigarettes with a sheet of paper. Every time you want a cigarette, unwrap the pack and write down what you are doing, how you feel and how important this cigarette is to you. Do this for a couple of weeks and you’ll have cut down as well as developed new insights into your smoking.
2. If cigarettes give you an energy boost, try gum, modest exercise, a brisk walk or a new hobby. Avoid eating new foods that are high in calories.
3. If cigarettes help you relax, try eating, drinking new beverages, or social activities within reasonable bounds.
4. When you crave cigarettes, you must quit suddenly. Try choosing an opportune time to quit, such as when you are ill with a cold or influenza, and have lost your taste for cigarettes.
5. Never smoke after you crave for a cigarette until three minutes have passed since you got the urge. During that three minutes change your thinking or activity.
6. Plan a memorable date for stopping. You might choose your vacation, New Year’s Day, your birthday, a holiday, the birthday of your child, your anniversary. But don’t make the date so distant that you lose momentum.
7. If you smoke under stress at work, pick a date for stopping when you will be away from your work.
8. Don’t store up cigarettes. Never buy by the carton. Wait until one pack is finished before you buy another.
9. Never carry cigarettes about with you at home or work. Keep your cigarettes as far from you as possible.
10. Never carry matches or a lighter with you.
11. Change your brand of cigarettes weekly so you are always smoking a brand of lower tar and nicotine content than the week before.
12. Never say, ‘I quit smoking’ because your resolution is broken if you have a cigarette. Better to say, ‘I don’t want to smoke now’. This way you maintain your resolution even if you ‘accidently’ have a cigarette.
13. Each day try to put off lighting your first cigarette.
14. Only smoke half a cigarette — throw the other half away.
15. After you have quit, never face the confusion of ‘craving a cigarette’ alone. Find someone you can call or visit at this critical time.
Telephone, a source of infection
Making a call from a public booth of a hospital ward can prove to be dangerous as the mouthpiece of a telephone is a potential vector for transmission of diseases, a study warns. "Telephone infection" is rampant in hospital wards, states the study published in a Journal of Association of Physicians of India (JAPI) by a team of doctors led by Dr. V. Singh and Dr. S.P. Garg at the Sawai Man Singh (SMS) Hospital, Jaipur.According to the study, the telephone can be a source of respiratory infections like bronchitis or pneumonia, oral cavity infections and dental problems. A bacterial culture from the telephone mouthpiece installed in the wards of the SMS Hospital has shown that 20 out of 43 telephone equipment carried pathogenic bacteria.
Although most bacteria are killed within hours due to drying, bacteria like staphylococci were found to be resistant to heat and remained viable for weeks. Saliva sprayed into the mouthpiece by betel chewing patients is the most likely source of infection. The researchers said that saliva mixed with dust and betelnut pieces provide an ideal medium for the bacteria to grow and multiply. Earlier, studies by the researchers had shown bacterial contamination on hospital instruments like stethoscope and ultra-sonography devices but this is the first time that telephones are being suspected for the same. To prevent "Telephone Infection" they suggest that a thin polythene plastic cover may be fixed over the mouthpiece and cleaned with disinfectant swabs after each use.