Dr. said. Heba El-Sayed, Director of the National AIDS Control Program, said that Egypt is still facing a low prevalence of AIDS, which is less than 1% of the general population, and globally the rate of female infections is similar to that of males, and in Egypt the rate of detecting cases of infection is higher among males than among women, due to… Most infection behaviors are accepted by males, in addition to the fact that women have less authority to decide to test for the disease, and the man is the one who decides to go to the doctor.
For an AIDS patient, treatment costs the state 2,000 pounds per month
She said during a workshop for journalists and media professionals, organized by the Ministry of Health today, that any country has two numbers of infected people, the first of which is an estimated number that the country is supposed to reach, and the actual number, which is what it actually reached, noting that HIV testing is voluntary and not compulsory. Examination is carried out for cases entering operating rooms, as well as within maternal and fetal health initiatives, as well as those about to get married, and Egypt achieved “zero” Infections among newborns, but this number was not achieved among mothers.
Noting that the Ministry of Health provides medications to relieve the symptoms of HIV infection, free of charge, with 100% of government funding, apart from grants, and these medications to relieve symptoms, at an average cost of 2000 pounds per month, for a total of 24 thousand pounds per year, < /span>
The first line of anti-HIV treatment is now being completed, which provides treatment to patients with 97% local production.
Dr. said. Heba Al-Sayed, that immunodeficiency occurs for many reasons, but the AIDS patient faces a number of overlapping symptoms, and the infection with the virus cannot be diagnosed except after conducting medical tests and confirming the infection, and it is not necessary for the AIDS patient to have symptoms, and not everyone infected with the virus has AIDS symptoms, and it works. Treatment improves the patient’s health and quality of life, so that he can live without symptoms, or by reducing them.
The virus enters the immune system in the human body, and multiplies in it, and then the number of the virus in the body increases, weakening its immunity, so that it is exposed to diseases and infections at any time, which may cause its death afterwards. The times of deterioration of the condition of AIDS infection vary according to the cases, and whether The patient is exposed to the source of the infection repeatedly or only once, the living environment, whether he has other diseases or not, taking treatment, etc. If the infection is discovered and the patient adheres to treatment and medical instructions, the patient will live for decades living with it. With the virus.
The methods of infection with AIDS vary, from having sex with an infected person, addiction, and transfusion of blood and body fluids.
Dr. said. Walid Kamal, Director of the Joint United Nations Program to Combat AIDS, said that the AIDS virus dies in clotted blood, and it also dies if it is exposed to a temperature of 56 degrees Celsius for a minute, and it is sufficient to apply normal preventive measures anywhere to combat AIDS, which is an infection that is not transmitted through traditional methods. To transmit infection.
Among the conditions for infection are the presence of the virus, sufficient doses to cause infection (the “infectious dose”), and the way the virus enters the blood, indicating that the nature of the virus is transmitted through methods of transmission that are different from other ways of spreading infection in hospitals or in public life.
There are ways that do not transmit the infection, which are coughing and sneezing, normal daily interactions, touching, public restrooms, the razor, and so on.
There are also ways to prevent infection from the infected mother to the child, including prevention and early diagnosis, care for infected people, planning pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, and vaccinating the mother and child.< /span>
