Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome What is HIV?
HIV is a virus that attacks the immune system, which is our body’s natural defence against illness. The virus destroys a type of white blood cell in the immune system called a T-helper cell, and makes copies of itself inside these cells. T-helper cells are also referred to as CD4 cells. As HIV destroys more CD4 cells and makes more copies of itself, it gradually breaks down a person’s immune system. This means someone living with HIV, who is not receiving treatment, will find it harder and harder to fight off infections and diseases.
If HIV is left untreated, it may take up to 10 or 15 years for the immune system to be so severely damaged it can no longer defend itself at all. However, the speed HIV progresses will vary depending on age, health and background.
What is AIDS? AIDS is not a virus but a set of symptoms (or syndrome) caused by the HIV virus. A person is said to have AIDS when their immune system is too weak to fight off infection, and they develop certain defining symptoms and illnesses. This is the last stage of HIV, when the infection is very advanced, and if left untreated will lead to death.
The HIV pandemic is most severe in SubSaharan Africa. Over 60% of all people living with HIV reside within the region. Adult HIV prevalence exceed 20% in Swaziland, Botswana, and Lesotho, while an additional six countries report adult HIV prevalence of at least 10%. In terms of raw HIV case numbers, South Africa, followed by Nigeria (3.2 million), and India (2.1 million) by the end of 2013. While South Africa's large population of HIV-positive people is attributable to its high disease prevalence (17.3%, ranked highest in the world) and Nigeria is ranked 20th (3.7%), India's prevalence (0.3%) is comparable to Canada, the UK, and lower than the USA due to its large population (1.3 billion).
HIV is a vicious virus that attacks the immune system, and can kill infected people if it’s left untreated. There are now than 100,000 people living with HIV in the UK – while an estimated 35 million people are infected worldwide.
An HIV infection has three main stages. The signs and symptoms vary according to the stage of infection as: * Acute Infection * Clinical Latency * AIDS
What are the symptoms? Most infected people experience a short illness, similar to flu, two to six weeks after coming into contact with HIV. These symptoms, which 80 per cent of infected people experience, are a sign that their body is trying to fight HIV. They include: •Fever •Sore throat •Body rash •Tiredness •Joint and/or muscle pain •Swollen glands After this illness, which normally lasts one to two weeks, HIV sufferers will have no symptoms for up to 10 years – during which time they will look and feel well.
However, the virus will continue to cause progressive damage to a person’s immune system. Only once the immune system is already severely damaged will the person show new symptoms. These include: •Weight loss •Chronic diarrhoea •Night sweats •Skin problems •Recurrent infections •Serious, life-threatening illnesses
How can I reduce my risk of getting HIV? Anyone can get HIV, but you can take steps to protect yourself from HIV infection.
Get tested and know your partner’s HIV status. Talk to your partner about HIV testing and get tested before you have sex. Have less risky sex. HIV is mainly spread by having anal or vaginal sex without a condom or without taking medicines to prevent or treat HIV. Use condoms. Use a condom correctly every time you have vaginal, anal, or oral sex.
Limit your number of sexual partners. The more partners you have, the more likely you are to have a partner with HIV whose HIV is not well controlled or to have a partner with a sexually transmitted disease (STD). Both of these factors can increase the risk of HIV transmission. If you have more than one sexual partner, get tested for HIV regularly. Get tested and treated for STDs. Insist that your partners get tested and treated too. Having an STD can increase your risk of becoming infected with HIV or spreading it to others.
Talk to your health care provider about pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). PrEP is an HIV prevention option for people who don’t have HIV but who are at high risk of becoming infected with HIV. PrEP involves taking a specific HIV medicine every day.
Don’t inject drugs. But if you do, use only sterile drug injection equipment and water and never share your equipment with others.
Personal Reflection The AIDS is a revolting and pretty dangerous virus that is mortal in most of the cases. Also in most of the cases it is transmitted between bisexual and gay couples who don’t protect themselves by using efficient preservatives so that’s what doctors and specialists in the topic want people to do to avoid this global virus and cause of a great amount of deaths. Over the years, new treatments have extended the life span and improved the lives of people with HIV. People don’t regularly die within months of their diagnosis. We don’t feel as helpless as we did back then. But HIV stigma still exists and people with HIV still experience isolation and shame over having HIV. About 50,000 people contract HIV each year in the United States; more than 1.1 million are living with HIV and a fifth of them don’t know they have HIV. So in conclusion, the only method to avoid the deaths caused by this virus is reducing the risks by preventing (preservatives, pills, etc.)