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HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) is a type of virus that damages the immune system of the body. The immune system is responsible for fighting against the infection and foreign bodies that harm the body. If an individual is infected with HIV, the virus kills CD4 cells hence immune cells called T cells die. Over time, due to lack of immune cells, the body is infected with various infections and cancers and the body cannot fight back. There are several ways through which HIV can be transmitted and they are:
However, HIV cannot spread through the air, water, or casual contact. Currently, there is no cure for the virus hence HIV is a lifelong condition. The medical care for the individual with HIV includes anti-retroviral therapy helps in managing the virus and infections caused due to it and the life expectancy can be increased for many years.
If the virus goes undetected and an individual doesn’t receive medication, a serious condition called AIDS (Acquired Immuno-Deficiency Syndrome) is developed. At this stage, the immune system is too weak to fight other infections and diseases.
AIDS develops in a patient who has HIV and is the most advanced stage of HIV. But if an individual having HIV doesn’t mean they’ll develop AIDS as well. A healthy adult has 500 to 1500 per cubic mm of CD4 cells, during HIV this count drops to 200 per cubic mm or less, then an individual develops AIDS. An individual with AIDS develops an opportunistic infection or cancer (rare). Antiretroviral treatment prevents AIDS from developing in HIV patients. If AIDS does develop it makes an individual vulnerable to a wide range of infections such as:
The shortened life expectancy in AIDS isn’t directly because of the virus but because of the other opportunistic disorders that become impossible to treat as a result of lowered immunity.
HIV is transmitted through contact of bodily fluids such as:
Some of the ways through which the HIV virus can be transmitted are:
HIV cannot spread through the following ways:
Early symptoms of HIV are:
Following are the ways to prevent HIV:
To make the coping process of HIV easier: