General questions/prompts:
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What do you think this graph shows us?
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What does this graph make you wonder?
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Does any part of this graph surprise you?
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How would you describe the relationship between the different variables involved?
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What title would you give this graph?
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Can you think of any further questions or future investigations? How would you go about getting the data you need for answers?
Specific questions/prompts:
Image 1: Graph showing HIV prevalence and incidence in the US 1980 -1995
The red line shows the total number of people living with HIV/AIDS. The blue line shows the new cases each year.
Why do you think HIV spread so rapidly at first?
Why do you think the new cases of HIV infection each year starts to decline after 1984?
After 1984, new cases level off, but there are still new cases each year - about 50,000 each year. So why does the number of people living with HIV/AIS not increase?
Image 2: Graph showing HIV prevalence and incidence in the US 1980 -2010
From 1996, things look even stranger. The new HIV cases continue to decrease slowly, but there are still almost 50,000 new cases each year. And yet, the total number of people living with HIV/AIDS starts to increase again.
Why is the number of people living with active HIV/AIDS increasing?
What happened in 1996 that caused this change?
The clue is to the previous three questions is in the word 'living.'
Image 3: Graph showing HIV infection prevalence and deaths in the US 1981 -2008
This graph reveals the answers. Infection with the HIV virus used to mean certain death when it leads to the disease AIDS and a person's immune system becomes fatally overwhelmed. It usually would take about 8-10 years before HIV becomes fatal. Sadly, the 'levelling off' of cases of people living with HIV infection between 1990 and 1995 is because the rate of new cases of HIV infection matched the rate of people dying of AIDS.
Then, in 1996, the rate of death from AIDS dramatically decreased. We saw from the previous graph that this was not due to decreases in HIV infections - so what could the cause have been?
Image 4: Graph showing HIV infection prevalence and deaths in the US 1981 -2008
In 1996, highly effective antiretroviral therapy (HAART), which is a treatment conssiting of several medicines to slow down the virus, was created and made available. Suddenly, the life expectancy of people with HIV was a lot higher by slowing down the progression of HIV infections to AIDS.
Since then, treatments have improved more and more - HIV has shifted from a fatal disease to a chronic, manageble condition. Treatment is so advanced that it can prevent transmission.
Do you think this means that HIV and AIDS will soon be eradicated?
Image 5: Map showing incidence of children living with HIV, 2022
However, advanced HIV treatment is not as easily available in the countries that have the highest HIV rates, because it is too expensive. In many of the poorest of those countries, most sufferers are women and children.