5^th World Congress on Control and Prevention of HIV/AIDS, STDs & STIs June 19-20, 2017 London, UK

AIDS stands for Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome. It is the result of HIV attacking the human immune system to the point where the body cannot fight off various diseases and illnesses (called opportunistic infections) that typically don’t affect a person with a healthy immune system. AIDS is the most advanced stage of HIV and can only be diagnosed by a doctor. HIV is spread when an HIV-infected person's body fluids (blood, semen, fluids from the vagina or breast milk) enter another person’s bloodstream. The most common way people are infected with HIV is by having unprotected sex (vaginal, anal or oral). While having unprotected sex, the virus can enter the bloodstream through linings in the mouth, anus, sex organs (the penis and vagina), or through broken skin. Pregnant women with HIV can give the virus to their babies during pregnancy, child birth or through breast feeding. HIV can also be spread by sharing needles that are used for taking drugs (legal and illegal), tattooing, and piercing. Both men and women can spread HIV. A person with HIV can feel okay and still give the virus to others.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta estimate that about 12 million U.S. residents develop an STD each year, and that at least 50 percent of all people in the U.S. will develop an STD at some time before they are 35 years old. The STD that a person is likely to develop has to do with where they live as well as with whom they engage in risky sexual behavior. It also has to do with the characteristics of the organism causing the STD. Many factors contribute to the development and maintenance of STDs throughout the world - not just individual sexual behavior. There are many reasons why certain organisms are concentrated in certain geographic regions, and why certain sub- populations are at higher risk of getting an STD than others. Rural-to-urban migration, poverty, war, and lack of access to medical care or medicines are reasons why diseases explode within certain populations. While these issues exist worldwide, often they are more intense in tropical developing countries where there are fewer resources. There are types of specimens used clinical pathology. 

Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) are infections that you can get from having sex with someone who has the infection. The causes of STDs are bacteria, parasites and viruses. There are more than 20 types of STDs, including Chlamydia, Gonorrhea, Genital herpes, HIV/AIDS, HPV, Syphilis, and Trichomoniasis. Most STDs affect both men and women, but in many cases the health problems they cause can be more severe for women. If a pregnant woman has an STD, it can cause serious health problems for the baby. If STD caused by bacteria or parasites, health care provider can treat it with antibiotics or other medicines. If STD caused by a virus, there is no cure. Sometimes medicines can keep the disease under control. Correct usage of latex condoms greatly reduces, but does not completely eliminate, the risk of catching or spreading STDs.

Many of STIs have no signs or symptoms in the majority of people infected. Or they have mild signs that can be easily overlooked. This is why the term “disease” (as in STD) is starting to be replaced by infection (or STI). STDs may be detected during a physical exam; through Pap smears; and in tests of blood, urine, and genital and anal secretions.

Sexually active men and women may be at risk for sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). The risk of contracting an STD is directly linked to the number of sexual partners the individual or his/her partner(s) have had. It is estimated that more than 20 percent of individuals with more than one sexual partner have an STD. Risk is extremely low for a couple that has only had intimate contact (genital/genital, oral/genital, anal/genital, finger/vaginal/anal) with each other and has never had any form of intimate sexual contact with others. Consistent condom use significantly reduces the risk of exposure to many sexually transmitted infections.

Mother-to-child transmission of HIV is the spread of HIV from an HIV-infected woman to her child during pregnancy, childbirth (also called labor and delivery), or breastfeeding (through breast milk). Mother-to-child transmission is the most common way that children become infected with HIV. Pregnant women with HIV receive HIV medicines during pregnancy and childbirth to reduce the risk of mother-to-child transmission of HIV. In some situations, a woman with HIV may have a scheduled cesarean delivery (sometimes called a C-section) to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV during delivery. Babies born to women with HIV receive HIV medicine for 6 weeks after birth. The HIV medicine reduces the risk of infection from any HIV that may have entered a baby’s body during childbirth. Because HIV can be transmitted in breast milk, women with HIV living in the United States should not breastfeed their babies. In the United States, baby formula is a safe and healthy alternative to breast milk.

Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) are infections that you can get by having sex or skin-to-skin contact between genitals with someone who has an STD and these are also sometimes called sexually transmitted infections or Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs). Whatever you call them, they can cause serious health problems. And they happen a lot to young people: About half of all new infections happen to people ages 15 to 24. There are more than 25 STDs caused by many different bacteria and viruses. Each STD has its own symptoms, but some have similar symptoms. Treatment of viral infections such as HIV involves patient care and moral support including antiretroviral therapy. Bacterial infections can be treated by administering antibiotics to the patients. Yeast infections can be primarily treated by sterilisation methods. 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that in 2007, there were approximately 24,000 HIV-infected youth between 13 and 24 years of age in the US.  Currently, HIV infection is the seventh leading cause of death in this age group.  During 2001–2004, in the 33 states with confidential name-based HIV reporting, there were 17,824 persons 13–24 years of age with a diagnosis of HIV/AIDS, of whom 62% were males.

Chlamydia and gonorrhea are important preventable causes of pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) and infertility. Untreated, about 10-15% of women with chlamydia will develop PID. Chlamydia can also cause fallopian tube infection without any symptoms. PID and “silent” infection in the upper genital tract may cause permanent damage to the fallopian tubes, uterus, and surrounding tissues, which can lead to infertility.
An estimated 2.86 million cases of chlamydia and 820,000 cases of gonorrhea occur annually in the United States. Most women infected with chlamydia or gonorrhea have no symptoms.

CDC recommends annual chlamydia and gonorrhea screening of all sexually active women younger than 25 years, as well as older women with risk factors such as new or multiple sex partners, or a sex partner who has a sexually transmitted infection.

Bacterial STDs can be cured with antibiotics if treatment begins early enough. Viral STDs cannot be cured, but symptoms can be managed with medications. There is a vaccine against hepatitis B, but it will not help if already have the disease. STIs caused by bacteria are generally easier to treat. Viral infections can be managed but not always cured. If you're pregnant and have an STI, prompt treatment can prevent or reduce the risk of infection of your baby. The treatment of STDs depends on the infection. In the case of gonorrhea and chlamydia, usually give an antibiotic injection to treat gonorrhea and oral antibiotics to treat chlamydia.

Some STDs can be diagnosed without any tests at all (pubic lice). Other STDs require a blood test or a sample of any unusual fluid such as an abnormal discharge from the vagina or the penis for gonorrhea or chlamydia to be analyzed in a lab to help establish a diagnosis. Some tests are completed while a person waits; other tests require a few days before a person may obtain the results. Physical examination,, and thorough medical history, plus one or more of the following blood tests in individuals 18 months of age or greater: Rapid HIV test completed on blood or saliva, ELISA (Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay) antibody blood test. If the sample tests positive for HIV, the more-accurate Western blot antibody blood test or an HIV nucleic acid test (viral load or HIV DNA PCR) is performed to confirm a diagnosis. For infants under 18 months of age, an HIV nucleic acid test (viral load or HIV DNA PCR) is recommended

Light microscopic examination of a sample of urethral discharge can be used to diagnose gonorrhea in men. Nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs) may also be used. In male gonorrheal urethritis, stained microscope slides will show Gram-negative diplococci (Caple et al., 2012). For women, a more sensitive and specific test is needed, and NAATs of urine or of a swab of the affected area are the preferred test techniques (Matteucci et al., 2012).

Urine samples can be used to test for urethritis in both genders. Recent urination will have washed gonorrheal discharge from the urethra. Therefore, to collect sufficient discharge, urine samples should be taken at least an hour after the patient’s last urination.

Vaginal swab specimens are used to test for cervicitis. Gonorrheal cervicitis produces sufficient discharge that swabs need not be taken by speculum examination. Instead, they can be collected blindly by the patient herself.

The consistent use of condoms will reduce the risk of contracting and spreading HPV infections. The HPV2 and HPV4 vaccines (e.g., Gardasil, Cervarix) are recommended for the immunization of both males and females.

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommends either vaccine for routine use in females ages 11 or 12 years. Ideally, the vaccination should be given before a girl or woman has become sexually active because it does not protect against existing HPV infections. The current HPV vaccine does not protect against all potentially cancer-causing types of HPV. Therefore, all women—even those who have been vaccinated against HPV—should have regular Pap tests.

The rate of acquisition of viral STDs is increasing, and most viral infections cannot be cured by medicines. Data from the World Health Organization (WHO, 2015b) estimate a global figure of approximately 35 million people who are living with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The same data show approximately 1,370,000 deaths by acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) worldwide in the countries reporting data (notably, the United States and China are not included in the reported data) (WHO, 2015b). But the disease progression in HIV/AIDS can be slowed by antiretroviral drugs (Bichoupan & Dieterich, 2014), and the frequency of outbreaks can be decreased by antiviral drugs, as in the case of herpes simplex virus (HSV). During the primary infection, and sometimes during recurrent outbreaks, herpes simplex virus can cause cervicitis that includes vesicles and ulcers. There is usually no mucopurulent exudate with herpes cervicitis.

Adults with immunodeficiencies are much more likely to suffer from molluscum contagiosum. Approximately 90% of patients who are HIV-positive have skin lesions of some sort, including molluscum contagiosum. In one study, 18% of patients who were HIV positive were found to have molluscum contagiosum (Rane et al., 2014). In immunodeficient people, molluscum contagiosum can spread to all body surfaces. Immunocompetent adults do not get molluscum contagiosum lesions far from the genital area. The appearance of molluscum contagiosum on the face of an adult is a good indicator that they have an HIV infection or some other immunosuppressive condition. Immunogenetics helps in understanding the pathogenesis of several autoimmune and infectious diseases and bacterial infections under clinical studies of STDs.

Sexually transmitted Infections (STIs) rank among the most important health issues for the people especially the young adults worldwide. Young people tend to engage in sexual activity at younger ages in the past decade than in the 1970s, and 1980s. Knowledge is an essential precursor of sexual risk reduction. A cross-sectional study was conducted in Pulau Pinang, Malaysia, to produce the baseline information about school students' awareness and perception about sexually transmitted Infections (STIs) and their sexual activity to help establish control and education programmes.

The Sexually Transmitted Disease (STD) infection prevention and control program works to reduce the incidence of sexually transmitted diseases. By providing screening, testing, diagnosis and treatment for infected individuals, the STD program is fighting the war against sexually transmitted diseases one person at a time. Identifying and providing prophylactic treatment and counselling for sexual partners of confirmed cases is another task of the STD program. These roles coupled with increasing the level of public awareness to sexually transmitted diseases describe the role of the STD program within the Miami-Dade County Health Department (MDCHD). 

Enterpreneurs from any field can exhibit their products and can give a presentation on their products which should be helpful in business development and marketing.