Hiv And South East Asia - 2106 Words

The most HIV-affected region in the world is sub-Saharan Africa, which had an estimated 68 percent of all cases and 66 percent of all deaths in the year 2010. South and South East Asia is the second most affected region, containing an estimated 12 percent of all people living with HIV in 2010 and about 2.4 million of these are in India. As of 2009 in the UK there were approximately 86,500 cases and 516 deaths. As of 2008 in Canada there were approximately 65,000 and 53 deaths. Prevalence is the lowest in Central and Western Europe at 0.2 percent, North Africa and Middle East at 0.1 percent, and East Asia at 0.1 percent. Today the world’s population is approximately 7.2 billion, 319 million of which is the population of the US. HIV/AIDS†¦show more content†¦This RNA genome is bound to nucleocapsid proteins as well as the enzymes needed for the development of the virion. These are enclosed by a cone-shaped capsid. A matrix that is composed of another protein surrounds the capsid, which is in turn, surrounded by the viral envelope that is composed of two phospholipid layers derived from the host human cell membrane when a newly formed virus budded from the cell. There are proteins embedded in this envelope that stick out through the surface of the virus membrane and allow the virus to connect and fuse with target cells in order to begin infecting those cells. These embedded proteins are glycoprotein complexes that consist of a cap called gp120, and a stem called gp41which anchors the complex in the envelope. HIV primarily targets components of the human immune system that express the CD4 protein as a surface receptor, such as CD4+ T cells, which are mature T helper cells that express the protein on their surface, macrophages, and dendritic cells. HIV gains entry into these cells through interaction of the virion’s gp120 protein with the CD4 receptor molecule on the target and also, secondarily, with chemokine co-receptors, including CCR5 and CXCR4. Macrophagetropic, or M-tropic, strains of HIV-1 are also called R5 viruses because they use the chemokine co-receptor CCR5 for entry. T cell, or T-tropic, strains are also called X4