AIDS (Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) is a disease caused by a virus called HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus). The illness alters the immune system, making people much more vulnerable to infections and diseases. This susceptibility worsens as the disease progresses.
HIV is found in the body fluids of an infected person (semen and vaginal fluids, blood and breast milk). The virus is passed from one person to another through blood-to-blood and sexual contact. In addition, infected pregnant women can pass HIV to their babies during pregnancy, delivering the baby during childbirth, and through breast feeding.
HIV can be transmitted in many ways, such as vaginal, oral sex, anal sex, blood
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The following information will help you protect yourself against HIV and AIDS.
AIDS Information
Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) causes AIDS, which is the term used to describe the later, potentially more serious, stages of HIV infection.
HIV damages the immune system and destroys the body 's CD4 T lymphocytes (T cells), one of many types of white blood cells the body uses to fight disease. T cells help the immune system "identify" foreign organisms that should be attacked. Thus, when the T cells are destroyed, it 's like being defended by a leaderless army that is easily defeated.
A person can be infected with HIV for ten years or even longer without showing any symptoms. However, in most cases, during that time the virus is attacking the immune system and destroying T cells.
By the time HIV damages enough cells to bring on full-blown AIDS, many of the typical symptoms can be present: weight loss, sporadic fevers, fatigue, swollen lymph nodes, diarrhea, and opportunistic infections such as certain types of pneumonia. Rare cancers and infections of the kidneys, digestive system, and brain can also develop.
HIV is passed from person to person by direct contact with blood or other body fluids through activities like unprotected vaginal, anal, or oral sexual contact with an infected person or through sharing syringes or needles
HIV has flu-like symptoms. The symptoms include fever, chills, rash, night sweats, sore throat, etc. If a person doesn’t take a medicine called ART (antiretroviral treatment) their immune system will weaken and then they will develop AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome). The symptoms of AIDS are rapid weight loss, extreme and unexplained tiredness, pneumonia, memory loss, depression, etc. Symptoms of HIV can start between a few months and more than ten years. HIV can only be spread through certain bodily fluids. Most of the time it is spread sexually. It can spread by blood, semen, pre-seminal fluid, rectal fluids, vaginal fluids, and breast milk. In the United States HIV is usually spread through anal or vaginal sex without taking medicine to prevent HIV or using a condom. HIV is also spread by sharing needles or syringes. HIV can live in a used needle for up to forty-two days. HIV does not survive long outside the body. It also cannot reproduce once it is outside its host. HIV also cannot be spread by tears, sweat, or saliva as long as it is not mixed with blood. HIV is a biosafety level three agent which meant it
Statistics show that people carry HIV/AIDS from particular types of activities. Commonly, the only way to transmit HIV is through sexual contact. The risks for this involves having anal or vaginal sex with an infected person without using protection to prevent the disease. Other methods, such as using needles or syringes that have been used, has also known to prepare to inject the person. The virus can be well known to transmit with body fluids including blood, semen, pre-seminal fluid, rectal fluids, vaginal fluids, as well as breast milk. Speaking of breast milk, when HIV is transmitted into a mother while experiencing childbirth or through breastfeeding, it is known as perinatal HIV. This type of virus is prevented by using antiretrovirals after giving birth. The body fluids make it way by entering the mucous membrane tissue that is found in inside of the mouth, rectum, and genitals. “HIV is most commonly transmitted through homosexual men in the United States and Canada.” (Encyclopedia Britannica) Most people who are either lesbian of gay in all parts of the world are infected with the virus but do not know about
HIV and AIDS is spread and contracted by humans in a variety of ways. HIV/AIDS is spread when bodily fluids, such as saliva, breast milk, and blood, are exchanged from human to human. These body fluids are exchanged through human contact, blood transfers, or sharing medical equipment. Scientists have discovered that HIV/AIDS is very common among lesbian and homosexual couples; although, it can be frequent in
Conferring to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), HIV stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus which leads to Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS), (CDC, 2014). HIV affects the immune system that is the CD4 cells causing the weakening of the immune system (CDC, 2014). Weakening of the immune system leaves the body defenseless from new infections. At this stage, one is then declared to have Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS).
There are three stages of HIV. Stage I of HIV is referred to as the “acute HIV infection” where the infected individual may experience influenza like symptoms such as fever, sore throat, night sweats, fatigue, mouth sores, thrush, or swollen lymph nodes. The second stage is referred to as the “clinical latency”, “asymptomatic HIV infection”, or “chronic HIV infection”. During this clinical latency, HIV infected individuals may not experience any symptoms at all, so therefore may believe they are perfectly healthy. The clinical latency allows HIV to produce at lower levels, yet individuals remain contagious. With everyday treatment, clinical latency may last 10 years and up to 20. However, some individuals do experience symptoms much sooner than that, especially if not treated everyday like it is highly encouraged by medical professionals.
Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is the disease that is caused by Human Immunodeficiency virus. “It break downs the immune system –our body’s protection against disease. HIV causes people to become sick with infections that normally wouldn’t affect them” (Planned Parenthood, 2014). HIV is a virus that attacks a key part of our immune system known as the T-Helper cells or CD4 cells. These cells help our body to fight against infectious diseases. When HIV attacks those cells it makes our immune system weak, and makes our body vulnerable to any diseases like AIDS. But having HIV doesn’t always mean having AIDS. A person has to meet certain criteria to be diagnosed with AIDS such as a very low CD4 cell count and the presence of any AIDS
HIV symptoms do not appear in a patient for years but some patients experience flu called ‘Acute Retroviral Syndrome’ (ARS) or primary HIV infection. Infected people may have symptoms such as fever, swollen glands, sore throats, rashes, fatigue, joint and muscles aches, headaches, shortness of breathe, cough, weight loss and diarrhoea. Among these symptoms, swollen lymph nodes are often one of the first sign of HIV infection.
The virus HIV that causes AIDS is not able to survive long in air and cannot be transmitted by casual contact. It can be transmitted by the exchange of certain body fluids, including
According to the Mayo Clinic website, the symptoms of HIV and AIDS differ depending on the person and the stage of the disease. They typical stages are the early stage, the clinical latency stage, or AIDS (the late stage of HIV infection). Discussed below are the symptoms and effects on the body that may be experienced at the different stages. During the early stage of HIV, some people may experience a flu-like illness within 2-4 weeks after HIV infection. The flu-like symptoms can include fever, chills, rash, night sweats, muscle aches, sore throat, fatigue, swollen lymph nodes and mouth ulcers. These symptoms can last from a few days to several weeks. After the early stage of HIV infection, the disease moves into a stage called the clinical latency stage (“chronic HIV infection”). During this stage, HIV is still active but reproduces at very low levels. People with chronic HIV infection may not have any HIV-related symptoms, or only mild ones. Eventually the virus weakens the body’s immune system and it progresses to AIDS, which is the late stage of HIV infection. These symptoms can include rapid weight loss;
There are three stages of HIV, and there are different effects within each stage. The first stage is the “Acute Primary Infection”. Within the first, through four weeks some will feel the symptoms of the flu or no symptoms at all. These symptoms include having a fever, sore throat, body rash, swollen glands, headaches, stomachaches, joint aches and pains, and muscle pains. These symptoms occur when the body is beginning to react to the virus. The second stage of HIV is “The Asymptomatic Stage.” The person who is infected starts to feel better within this stage. Without going
HIV the causation of AIDS destroys the body’s immune system, allowing opportunistic infections to take over and without treatment will lead to AIDS. There are no specific signs or symptoms that prove the contracting of HIV. Testing is the only way to diagnose HIV. Beginning signs and symptoms of early HIV can start off as flu like symptoms. AIDS (2015) states the symptoms as having, a body rash, chills, sweats, fevers, sore throat, muscle aches, swollen lymph nodes, mouth ulcers, and fatigue. These symptoms can persist and linger for days or weeks after contracting HIV, or no symptoms may occur in the early stages of transmission. If someone is in an early stage of HIV, HIV testing might not show positive, but regardless of this they are
The global spread of this virus, after the hypothesized initial localized infection depicts the intricate and efficient transmission of HIV. The titer of the virus is greatest in the blood and bodily fluids (semen, vaginal secretions) of an infected person. One of the main transmission routes is through sexual contact. This sexual contact can be oral, anal or vaginal. The virus has access to the immune cells and the blood of an uninfected person when an HIV positive persons bodily fluids containing virus contacts uninfected hosts, thus giving means for transmission. Seeing as sexually transmitted infections and ulcerative sexually transmitted infections damage protective skin and mucosal layers, transmission of HIV is greatly
There are various mode of transmitting HIV infection such as sexual transmission, parenteral transmission and
People can live with the virus for years and be unaware that they are infected. The only way the individuals can find out if they have HIV is to a HIV test. After this stage the suffer can go on with no symptoms for many years but will progressively cause damage to their immune system, once the immune system becomes extremely damaged their symptoms can include:
Before going deeply, it is necessary to understand some background information. AIDS is known as a disease when the immune system of the body collapses, and is unable to fight certain infections and other illnesses that become stronger than the immune system (AAR, 2001). According to New York Times, "HIV infection is a condition that can gradually destroy the immune system, which makes it harder for the body to fight infections. When this happens, the person has AIDS" (NYT, 2013).