History of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome Essay

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

AIDS (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome) is defined by the Mayo Clinic as "A chronic, potentially life-threatening condition which is caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). HIV damages the immune system, and interferes with the ability the body has to fight the disease causing organism" (Mayo Clinic, 2014). HIV is an infection transmitted sexually. Another mode of transmission for HIV is by exposure to infected blood, or it could also be transmitted from the mother to the unborn child during the course of pregnancy, at childbirth or through breastfeeding. It may take several years for the HIV virus to weaken the immune system

HIV is a sexually transmitted disease that attacks the body’s immune system by diminishing CD4 cells that help prevent and fight illnesses. HIV is a virus, more specifically a retrovirus that transcribes its RNA into the host cell’s DNA, and is spread by a transfer in bodily fluids namely drug injection and condomless sex. As the disease progresses into acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), the virus continues eliminating CD4 cells until the immune system becomes virtually ineffective [5]. Scientists first identified HIV in 1985 in response to the AIDS crisis plaguing the United States [6]. With no cure yet available, those affected with HIV must rely on antiretroviral drug therapy to decrease their chances of developing AIDS [7].

AIDS: As the number of your CD4 cells begins to fall below 200 cells per cubic millimetre of blood, you will be diagnosed as having AIDS. (Normal CD4 counts are between 500 and 1,600 cells/mm3.) This is the stage of infection that happens when your immune system is badly damaged and you become vulnerable to other infections. Without treatment,

HIV RNA (viral load) and CD4 T lymphocyte (CD4) cell count are the two surrogate markers of antiretroviral treatment (ART) responses and HIV disease progression that are used to manage and monitor HIV infection. The key goal of ART is to achieve and maintain durable viral suppression. If a patient has virologic failure, it means that they are unable to achieve or maintain suppression of viral replication to an HIV RNA level <200 copies/mL. Therefore, they should be assessed for virologic failure which include an assessment of adherence, drug-drug or drug-food interactions, drug tolerability, HIV RNA and CD4 T lymphocyte (CD4) cell count trends over time, treatment history, and prior and current drug-resistance testing results. Moreso, drug-resistance testing should be performed while the patient is taking the failing antiretroviral (ARV) regimen or within 4 weeks of treatment discontinuation.

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.

AIDS, which stands for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, has a set of symptoms that has caused by the Human Immunodeficiency Virus, or HIV. This type of virus is considered to be when a person’s immune system is too weak to defend advanced HIV infections and how it develops certain symptoms and illnesses that will destroy the immune system. Most of the infections are harmless for healthy people, but the ones that have AIDS can die from the same diseases. “There is no cure for HIV and AIDS yet. However, treatment can control

AIDS is diagnosed when an individual with HIV infection develops at least one of the following conditions: a CD4+ T cell count below 200 cells/L. An opportunistic infection; fungal, viral, protozoal, bacterial, cancers, wasting syndrome, and/ or Aids Dementia (ADC).

HIV is a disease with multiple stages of severity. Persons who acquire this disease may unknowingly be a carrier for years without realizing it. At early onset of acute HIV infection (Stage 1), a few weeks after exposure, viral replication is rapid and there may be mild, generalized flulike symptoms such as low fever, fatigue, arthralgia, and sore throat (VanMeter, 2014). Following this brief illness, if any, of stage I the person would then go into Stage 2 or clinical latency. This period can also be referred to as asymptomatic HIV infection due to the low levels of HIV reproductions. For some, this period can last many years to a full decade or beyond, but without treatment many will go through this phase quickly. Those that test

Since AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome) is a disease of the immune system caused by HIV, which is a retrovirus that causes acute immunosuppression. HIV can produce an increase in fatal diseases which includes wasting syndromes and central nervous system disintegration. People with acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) develop opportunistic infections once the immune system becomes severely compromised. A patient’s CD4 T-cell is directly related to the risk of developing an opportunistic infection. Additionally, HIV most frequently infects CD4 cells. The CD4 cell count is a key gauge of the health of the immune system. CD4 levels lower than 200 will be at risk for an opportunistic infection. .Patients with AIDS routinely receives a test called the CD4 test. This blood test is taken to count several types of cells. Moreover, this test do not count CD4 cells, it is a calculation based on total white blood cells and the proportion of cells that are CD4. The blood sample is tested to count several types of cells. Interpretation of this test does not count the CD4 cells directly. Instead, the laboratory makes an estimate based on total white blood cells and the percentage of cells that are CD4. Therefore, the CD4 count is not exact. When the CD4 cells has gone down, it is indicative of a weakened immune system. The lower the CD4 cells, the more probable the patient will become sick. A patient loses the ability to fight infection when the CD4 cells have gone down. Once the patient has lost the ability to fight off germs, an opportunistic infection such as pneumonia, skin infections, oral disorders, diarrhea, AIDS related dementia, Kaposi sarcoma, and CNS disorders may occur. Routinely patients are advised to check CD4 cells every three to six months when initiating antiretroviral treatment and once levels has increased, test every six to twelve

HIV and AIDS are sometimes used interchangeably, although there is a significant difference, and some HIV positive individuals will never develop Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). Testing HIV positive means there are antibodies present in the system. HIV is classified into two phases: symptomatic and asymptomatic. Individuals show signs of a compromised immune system during the symptomatic phase, although with treatment advances, many are living asymptomatically. The progress of the illness can often be evaluated by looking at one’s CD4 and viral load

HIV stands for (Human Immunodeficiency Virus). If not treated properly, it can be turned into a disease called AIDS (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome). HIV affects the body's immune system, primarily targeting the T cells. In result of this, the human body is more vulnerable to get more infections

Acute (Primary) HIV infection. “Acute HIV occurs 1-4 weeks after transmission and is accompanied by a burst of viral replication with a decline in CD4 cell count. Most patients manifest a symptomatic mononucleosis-like syndrome which is often overlooked. Acute HIV infection is confirmed by demonstrating a high HIV RNA with either a negative HIV antibody test or a reactive ELISA with negative or indeterminate Western blot” (Sax, 2013, p.3).

HIV specific immune response. The Indirect binding assay and antibody capture assay, as well as

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.