Contraceptive Used in Africa May Double Risk of H.I.V.
By Pam Belluck
Recent studies have shown that the most popular form of birth control used by women in Africa largely increases the risk of these women becoming infected with H.I.V. In addition, if a woman taking this form of contraception has already contacted the virus, her partner is more likely to be infected as well. The method that has recently come under scrutiny is a hormone injected every three months, used by 6% of the women between 15 and 49 in Sub-Saharan Africa. In this United States, 1.2 million women, equal to 3% of the population, use this method. While the study was only done on African couples, scientists believe that the effects would be biologically the same for women in America, but cases of contacting H.I.V. are less common due to more accessible health care and better knowledge about the issue. The World Health Organization has taken note of this study, and has agreed to convene in January to analyze whether these findings, which match those of a few other studies, should cause them to issue a formal warning against this contraceptive to women in Africa. Officials want to make sure that if there is real danger, they warn the women, but they do not want to cause a panic until they are absolutely sure. Since it is the most common form of contraceptive, this could lead to increased pregnancies, which is a huge cause of both pain and death for women, and in addition studies have pointed that pregnancy too increases the chances of contacting HIV. So far, researchers are neither sure whether these results are conclusive, since when conducting an experiment on real people over the course of a few years it is often hard to isolate a variable, nor are they sure why the hormone causes an increased susceptibility to the virus. However, they did notice that women taking the hormone had a greater amount of the virus in their blood than women not on the hormone. In addition, researchers want to be able to provide an alternative form of birth control for these women before telling them that this method no longer works.
This article has widespread affects for people around the world, especially the women in Africa. Their health is in serious risk, but the risk is not only to them. Women in America, as the article states, and no doubt in other places in the world, rely on this method for contraceptive. While HIV is not as prevalent in other areas of the world as it is in Africa, being more susceptible to the disease is a concern world wide, and women taking this method of contraceptive should be informed. In addition, the hormone being injected is also found in other forms of birth control such as the pill, and while studies are inconclusive on whether or not the pill also increases the chance of getting HIV, the connection is possible. Further research on this topic should be immediately conducted, and information shared with women globally as soon as possible. The HIV epidemic already takes enough of a toll on human life, and we must eliminate any medical methods that increase the spread of this incurable disease.
Overall, I thought this article was well presented. The terms were well defined, and the evidence and jargon were clearly stated so that an average reader could fully understand what was going on and the dilemmas we are now facing. I also thought the article did an excellent job pointing out that these studies cannot be 100% accurate, and although some have called for said tests, a “controlled experiment” according to the definition would not be possible in this case. There were many variables that could cloud the results, and possibly cause false conclusions to be drawn. However, I did not agree with the fact that a meeting on the subject is not going to happen until January. This is a health risk that must be immediately looked into, and I feel that the article stressed this situation, yet offered no criticism of the World Health Organization, which is too slow to take action. Yes, they don’t want to create a panic, but the products women are taking are potentially dangerous, and they deserve to know. If the population at risk resided mainly in America, more immediate attention would undoubtedly be paid to the issue.
Rosalie’s review of Contraceptive Used in Africa May Double Risk of H.I.V. was very informative and engaging. She used advanced vocabulary, but in a way that was not difficult for the reader to understand. This is not an easy task to accomplish, and I feel that in her review she mastered it. Another strength of her review was her addition of the results from the study in America. Although it was not necessary to say that similar results were not found in America, it adds emphasis that the increased risk is specific to areas like Africa. Also, because numbers help me have a full science articles, the inclusion of statistical data was nice to see in her writing.
ReplyDeleteWhile some details Rosalie incorporated enhanced her review of the article, others did not need to be included or explained to such an extent. Her review was overall too lengthy, and I believe condensing her piece would strengthen it. Also, there were grammatical errors that need to be addressed. Once they are fixed her writing will flow much more smoothly, and look more professional. Other than these minor concerns I had with the review, I found Rosalie’s writing to be excellent and the topic she chose interesting. I never would have thought that a medicine people promote to encourage safe intercourse would have such a detrimental effect on those who use it countries like Africa.