HIV Virus

 

 

Introduction:

Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is a chronic, potentially life-threatening condition caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). By damaging your immune system, HIV interferes with your body's ability to fight infection and disease.

 

 

HIV is a sexually transmitted infection (STI). It can also be spread by contact with infected blood and from illicit injection drug use or sharing needles. It can also be spread from mother to child during pregnancy, childbirth or breastfeeding. Without medication, it may take years before HIV weakens your immune system to the point that you have AIDS.

 

There's no cure for HIV/AIDS, but medications can control the infection and prevent progression of the disease. Antiviral treatments for HIV have reduced AIDS deaths around the world, and international organizations are working to increase the availability of prevention measures and treatment in resource-poor countries.

 

 

Symptoms:

The symptoms of HIV and AIDS vary, depending on the phase of infection.

 

Primary infection (Acute HIV)

Some people infected by HIV develop a flu-like illness within 2 to 4 weeks after the virus enters the body. This illness, known as primary (acute) HIV infection, may last for a few weeks.

 

Possible signs and symptoms include:

 

Fever

Headache

Muscle aches and joint pain

Rash

Sore throat and painful mouth sores

Swollen lymph glands, mainly on the neck

Diarrhea

Weight loss

Cough

Night sweats

These symptoms can be so mild that you might not even notice them. However, the amount of virus in your bloodstream (viral load) is quite high at this time. As a result, the infection spreads more easily during primary infection than during the next stage.

 

Progression to aids:

Access to better antiviral treatments has dramatically decreased deaths from AIDS worldwide, even in resource-poor countries. Thanks to these life-saving treatments, most people with HIV in the U.S. today don't develop AIDS. Untreated, HIV typically turns into AIDS in about 8 to 10 years.

 

When AIDS occurs, your immune system has been severely damaged. You'll be more likely to develop diseases that wouldn't usually cause illness in a person with a healthy immune system. These are called opportunistic infections or opportunistic cancers.

 

The signs and symptoms of some of these infections may include:

 

Sweats

Chills

Recurring fever

Chronic diarrhea

Swollen lymph glands

Persistent white spots or unusual lesions on your tongue or in your mouth

Persistent, unexplained fatigue

Weakness

Weight loss

Skin rashes or bumps.

 

Causes:

HIV is caused by a virus. It can spread through sexual contact, illicit injection drug use or sharing needles, contact with infected blood, or from mother to child during pregnancy, childbirth or breastfeeding.

 

HIV destroys CD4 T cells — white blood cells that play a large role in helping your body fight disease. The fewer CD4 T cells you have, the weaker your immune system becomes.

 

 

How HIV spread:

To become infected with HIV, infected blood, semen or vaginal secretions must enter your body. This can happen in several ways:

•by having sex

•by sharing needles

•from blood transfusion

•During pregnancy or delivery or through breastfeeding.

 

Prevention:

Take HIV medicines daily. Treatment with HIV medicines (called antiretroviral therapy or ART) helps people with HIV live longer, healthier lives. ART cannot cure HIV, but it can reduce the amount of HIV in the body (called the viral load). One of the main goals of ART is to reduce a person's viral load to an undetectable level. An undetectable viral load means that the level of HIV in the blood is too low to be detected by a viral load test. People with HIV who maintain an undetectable viral load have effectively no risk of transmitting HIV to an HIV-negative partner through sex.

 

Here are some other steps you can take to prevent HIV transmission:

 

•Use condoms correctly every time you have sex.

•Talk to your partner about taking PrEP.

•If you inject drugs, do not share your needles, syringes, or other drug equipment with your partner.