Essay on HIV

HIV has affected people all across the world. HIV comes with physical and mental symptoms. The body symptoms include skin flaking off, being dry, skin peeling off (Saliba 23) , fingernails falling off (32), and weight loss (14). Mentally it is hard to sleep, people become weak, and are tired all the time (23). People all across the world are infected with this disease, and the problem with this is the fact that most do not even know they have it. The most people who are infected each year are African Americans, gays, or bisexuals. 10,315 African Americans were infected in 2015. The U.S.A. has estimated about 1.1 million are infected with the disease. Equally to about 12,333 deaths happened in 2014 from AIDS related diseases, and 6,721 deaths from AIDS directly. Although there are a large amount of people getting infected, on the other hand eighteen percent of the population with HIV is declining since 2008-2014 (“U.S. Statistics”). In the world about 33.2 million people worldwide have HIV, with 22.5 million people in sub Saharan Africa are living with this condition, one out of nine people who live in South America have HIV or AIDS (Saliba 8).

HIV or the Human Deficiency virus is like other viruses including the flu, but the one thing that makes this virus so different than any other is that the body is unable to clear this one out completely. Once someone is infected, there is no cure. Over time, HIV can also hide or mask itself in the body's cells. The cells within a person's body that fight off infection are called CD4 cells or T cells. HIV attacks these cells and copies or replicates itself inside these cells, then destroys them. HIV over time will destroy so many of these cells that the body is unable to fight off infection anymore. When this starts happening, AIDS or Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome happens which is the final stage

The term Human Immunodeficiency Virus is commonly known as (HIV), which is a virus that attacks the immune system of humans by destroying the amount of CD4 cells in their bodies. Without CD4 the human body is unable to fight against diseases, which can lead to Acquired Immune deficiency syndrome known as AIDS for short. The first case of the HIV/AIDS virus in the U.S. occurred in the early 1980’s. The first spark of the virus was found in San Francisco with couple of homosexual Caucasian American males. Today African Americans account for the largest proportion of HIV and AIDS in this country, represent approximately 13% of the U.S. population, but accounted for an estimated 44% of new HIV infections in 2010(the last year a study was

Human Immunodeficiency Virus is HIV that develops into AIDS, which is Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. This virus starts to break down white blood cells, as a result the immune system starts to deteriorate and our greatest shield cannot fight any longer (Mayo Clinic, 2016). The CDC (2015) states, that over 1.2 million people live with HIV in the United States and most who are infected are oblivious of their disease. Healthy people 2020 has declared HIV a public health crisis in the United States, and continues to sweep the nation with more than 500,000 new cases each year (HealthyPeople2020,2016).

They are harmless variant or derivative of a pathogen that stimulates a host’s immune system to mount defenses against the pathogen

The Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome denotes a spectrum of conditions that are caused by the HIV virus. Infection with this disease does not result in the instant occurrence of the related signs and symptoms. However, an individual is likely to experience flu-like symptoms after he or she is infected with it. Eventually, the person experiences a prolonged period of apparent health with no visible signs. On progression, the infection adversely interferes with the immune system of the individual. The weakening of the body’s defense system increases the risk of recurrence of common infections and opportunistic illnesses that

According to recent statistics from the Centers for Disease Control, approximately 1.2 million individuals in the United States have HIV (about 14 percent of which are unaware of their infection and another 1.1 million have progressed to AIDS. Over the past decade, the number of HIV cases in the US has increased, however, the annual number of cases remains stable at about 50, 000 new cases per year. Within these estimates, certain groups tend to carry the burden of these disease, particularly the gay, bisexual, and men who have sex with men (MSM) and among race/ethnic groups, Blacks/African American males remain disproportionately affected. (CDC)

In the 1980s, a mysterious disease began to take the lives of Americans. With the cause unknown, a fear grew among Americans. An unusually high rate of people was becoming sick with strange and rare diseases. When experimental treatments failed to work, people died. This mysterious disease is what we now know as HIV–Human Immunodeficiency Virus. In the past thirty-five years, the HIV has taken many turns in history. Although we do not hear about HIV and AIDS now, it is still a prevalent issue in the United States and in the world.

i. HIV is a virus that kills cells in our immune system, which protects us from

understood that the pathogens adapted to the immune system and were immune to its defenses so

Their two primary jobs are to ensure antibody production against the appropriate target antigen occurs and there is presentation of antigen to T cells and signals for T cell activation are provided. B cells provide protection of the host by producing antibodies that identify and neutralize foreign objects like viruses. These B cells then differentiate into plasma cells and memory cells. Plasma cells are terminally differentiated B cells that remain committed to the continuous production and secretion of antibodies. Each plasma will synthesise and secret only one type of antibody. Memory B cells are long-lived B cells that have specialised to remembering the type of substances that the immune system has seen before, they are primed for rapid response to repeated exposure of the antigen. Memory B cells are generated in the lymphoid tissue and migrate to the lymph nodes and reside in the ready mode for activation in order to quickly recognise and attack any returning virus. T cells attack cells that have become infected by viruses, there are two types of T cells the T-helper cell ad the cytotoxic T cell. T-helper cells do not attack infected cells directly, instead they release chemical messengers known as cytokines that signal differentiation, growth and action of other immune cells. Cytotoxic T cells go around in the body looking for and wanting to destroy pathogenic cells directly. Cytotoxic T cells attach to the compromised cell and release chemical factors that are able to kill their targets by programming then to undergo apoptosis. * Dendritic

Primary HIV infection is the first stage and only lasts for a few weeks. Flu-like illnesses may be present during this stage. The second stage is known as clinically asymptomatic stage and typically lasts for an average of ten years. Although major symptoms might not exist during this stage, the HIV-positive person may experience swollen glands. Symptomatic HIV infection is the third stage. As the immune system continues to fail, symptoms surface and become miniscule at first then later leading to more prevalent symptoms. This third stage is generally caused by illnesses, involving cancers and infections, which the immune system would normally fight off but is not able to because the immune system is too weak. Finally, AIDS, Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, develops and is the final stage of HIV. A person is diagnosed with AIDS when they show the symptom called an opportunistic infection. This is when infections take advantage of the weakened immune system. HIV leads into life threatening AIDS and causes the infected individual to feel escalating amounts of pain such as neurotic pain, tremendous headaches, gastrointestinal pain, chest pain, and even emotional pain such as depression. This pain can be intense enough to cease the individual from living a productively normal life. HIV and AIDS can strike anyone at any point in their life and should be taken seriously.

During the Clinical Latency Stage, those who are infected are living with the virus. The virus is alive and continues to develop in the body. During this time there is treatment that helps to keep the virus at bay, meaning that it is possible to live with this stage of H.I.V for years. This treatment is referred to as antiretroviral therapy or (ART). Although the person may not notice any symptoms, it is still quite possible for them to transmit the virus to another person. During the final stage, known as the Progression to AIDS, there are many symptoms that tend to be recurring. This stage usually occurs when the person infected does not take therapy. These symptoms range from rapid, unexpected weight loss, swollen lymph nodes that stay swollen longer than the normal time and even nocturnal hyperhidrosis or excessive night sweats. During this stage, sores develop and there may be development of neurological disorders such as loss of memory and even depression. However, it is important to remember that the only way to know for sure if someone is infected with H.I.V is to get tested.

HIV is the human immunodeficiency virus that causes AIDS. A member of a group of viruses called retroviruses, HIV infects human cells and uses the energy and nutrients provided by those cells to grow and reproduce. AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) is a disease in which the body's immune system breaks down and is unable to fight off certain infections, known as "opportunistic infections," and other illnesses that take advantage of a weakened immune system. When a person is infected with HIV, the virus enters the body and lives and multiplies primarily in the white blood cells. These are the immune cells that normally protect us from disease.

HIV, or the Human Immunodeficiency Virus, is a virus which damages and kills cells of the immune system. It attacks the T-cells, key cells of the immune system, and uses them to make copies of itself. After being infected with the virus it progressively interferes and eventually destroys the immune system's ability to fight the anti-genes. HIV may develop into the syndrome AIDS, the Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome. HIV is an STD - a sexually transmitted disease - and therefore most commonly it is spread through sexual contact, and the virus mainly enters the body through the penis, mouth, lining of the vagina or vulva during sexual activity. HIV can also be spread through sharing syringes or needles with someone who is infected with the