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Human Immunodeficiency Virus And Its Population

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Assignment 6c - Research Paper
November 29, 2014
Alex Pungello rpungello@knights.ucf.ed Richard Pungello

No modern nation is immune from the effects of Human Immunodeficiency Virus, or HIV, on its population. The Republic of Italy is no different.
To understand how the Human Immunodeficiency Virus has taken shape within the Republic of Italy, it is first important to define and understand what this virus is in general terms. Human Immunodeficiency Virus is quite similar to other viruses, including the viruses that cause influenza –the flu- or the common cold.
There is an important difference, however; over time, an individual’s immune system can clear most viruses out of the body. That unfortunately is not the case with HIV; the human immune system cannot rid itself of this virus. HIV inflicts this damage by contaminating immune cells in the body called CD4 positive T cells; these cells are vital to the body for fighting infections (Douek, Roederer & Koup, 2009). Human Immunodeficiency Virus, in essence, converts the CD4 positive T cells into manufacturers that produce even more of the HIV virus; these go on to infect other healthy cells, eventually destroying the CD4 positive T cells (Douek et al., 2009).
As CD4 positive T cells are lost and the individual’s immune system deteriorates, a person will become more prone to illnesses and common contagions (Douek et al., 2009). AIDS is diagnosed when an HIV-positive person has one or more of these

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