A 2020 Vision for Vaccines Agains Hiv Tuber Lusis and Malaria
What Is HIV? Understanding Causes, Symptoms, Treatments and More

Homo immunodeficiency virus, more commonly known equally HIV, is a virus that, without treatment, leads to deterioration of your body's immune arrangement to a point where your trunk has problem fighting off mild infections. When your immune organisation has become severely damaged after a prolonged flow with HIV, it's known as acquired immune deficiency syndrome or AIDS.
HIV is a bloodborne retrovirus that infects specific cells in the human immune system called CD4 T cells. CD4 cells normally play an of import role in your immune organization. They're responsible for detecting harmful pathogens like bacteria and viruses so your body can begin fighting off those pathogens.
At that place's no cure for HIV, and once you lot contract information technology, the virus will remain in your torso for life. Over time, if left untreated, HIV can progressively damage your immune system to a point where you get susceptible to AIDS-defining illnesses — infections and conditions that wouldn't normally make you sick if your immune system was functioning properly.
In laurels of National HIV/AIDS & Aging Awareness Solar day, nosotros're going to talk over the causes of, symptoms of, and treatments for HIV and AIDs.
Many people have no symptoms at all after initially becoming infected with HIV. Notwithstanding, most people exercise feel some non-specific symptoms within the first few weeks after infection. This means the symptoms are typical of many illnesses and don't immediately point to one specific condition as their cause. For HIV, non-specific symptoms include:
- Influenza-like symptoms
- Diarrhea
- Fatigue
- Fever
- Headache
- Stiff or agonized muscles
- Rash
- Mouth ulcers
- Sore throat
- Sweating at nighttime
- Swollen lymph glands
After this initial illness, which is known as "seroconversion," most people alive for many years without any symptoms until the virus has harmed their allowed system to a point where they start to become significantly more vulnerable to infections and illnesses.
HIV is present in the blood, pre-ejaculatory fluid, semen, vaginal fluid, rectal fluid, and chest milk of people with the virus. HIV can be transmitted by:
- Sexual contact, including vaginal, anal, and oral sex, and through the sharing of sex toys
- Sharing of needles, which about unremarkably occurs in groups of people who are using intravenous drugs
- Receiving a blood transfusion from an infected individual; this rarely occurs in adult countries, as donor claret is usually screened for claret-borne viruses such equally HIV
- Childbirth; HIV can exist passed from the meaning parent to the child during pregnancy or childbirth
- Breastfeeding; HIV exists in breast milk and can be passed on to a kid
In rare cases, HIV can as well be spread by:
- Ingesting pre-chewed nutrient from someone who has the virus; this is a common practice in some underdeveloped countries and is generally done to feed pocket-sized children or elderly people
- Being bitten by someone or biting someone who has HIV
- Kissing, if there is bleeding within the mouth
- Undergoing body-modification procedures such as tattoos or piercings if tools are not properly sterilized between clients
The vast majority of cases of HIV in the Us are acquired via sexual contact. HIV cannot exist spread by:
- Air
- Water
- Insect bites
- Saliva
- Sweat
- Tears
- Coincidental contact such as shaking hands or hugging
Diagnosing HIV
HIV is usually diagnosed via a claret test. The nigh accurate and reliable examination is known every bit a fourth-generation test. It checks for both a specific role of the HIV viral construction (chosen the p24 antigen) and your own body'south response to the infection (HIV antibodies).
Betoken-of-intendance tests are also available, and they differ from 4th-generation tests. These take a small sample of saliva or blood and provide a result in less than an hour. However, these are less sensitive and may not option upward all cases of HIV due to the smaller concentration of antibodies in the saliva or modest blood sample. Yous should always follow upwards a point-of-care result with a confirmatory laboratory test. At that place are too cocky-sampling and dwelling house-testing kits available.
Any positive result is usually repeated to bank check it wasn't a rare false-positive. If you lot're diagnosed with HIV, you'll be referred to a specialist HIV heart to discuss treatment correct away.
HIV has a window period, meaning information technology can accept a certain length of time for a test to exist able to discover the virus in your torso. Many newer tests can decide results in 99% of people 45 days following their potential exposure. If you think you might have been exposed to HIV, information technology may not show upwardly in a blood test for 45 days. Point-of-care testing and calm testing can take an even longer window period, sometimes lasting upwards to 12 weeks.
Treatment for HIV
In that location is no cure for HIV, but the infection tin can be managed, allowing people with the virus to lead long and normal lives. Treatment for HIV ordinarily involves a number of different antiretroviral (ARV) drugs. The virus requires an enzyme called protease in order to replicate, so treatment will involve protease inhibitors besides equally ARV drugs. This combination of medications is called highly active antiretroviral handling, or HAART.
The aim of treatment is to reduce the level of circulating virus particles in your body to a point where HIV is no longer detectable. This ways that the virus is at such depression levels that it won't cause nearly equally much damage to your allowed system, and y'all probable won't be able to transmit it to anyone. Undetectable means untransmissable. Many people reach this level within six months of treatment.
HIV drugs, like whatsoever medication, tin cause side furnishings, such every bit nausea, diarrhea, headache and rash. Some people feel long-term side furnishings, such as changes in claret cholesterol levels or interference with liver or kidney performance. You'll be regularly monitored for these side effects once yous first medication therapy.
How well the treatment is working is monitored by two parameters: the HIV viral load, pregnant how many viral particles are nowadays in your claret, and the CD4 count, which is a measure of how much the HIV virus has damaged specific blood cells of your immune system.
Post-exposure prophylaxis, or PEP, is a set of medications that you lot can take very presently later on potential exposure to HIV. In well-nigh cases, these drugs can prevent infection from occurring. This handling should but exist used in an emergency and must be taken within 72 hours of exposure. PEP is normally taken for a menses of 28 days.
Pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP (available under the brand names Truvada® and Descovy®), is a medication that y'all tin take if you lot're at high risk of contracting HIV. These drugs can protect you from acquiring an infection with the virus. Y'all can take PrEP daily or "on need," in which you accept the medication right before you could potentially be exposed to the virus.
HIV Prognosis
HIV is a chronic status that currently has no cure, but people with the virus have enough of effective options for managing the condition and living comfortably. Without treatment, nearly every HIV patient will go on to develop AIDS. Nonetheless, when doctors detect HIV early and begin providing prompt handling, the prognosis for people with HIV is very good. Nowadays, someone who's diagnosed early with a loftier CD4 count has the aforementioned life expectancy equally someone without HIV. However, people with HIV do appear to develop some other weather condition at before ages than those without HIV — including cardiovascular disease, kidney disease, lung disease, diabetes and cancer — which may equate to differences in quality of life.
If someone doesn't become handling early on, the virus will progress and weaken their immune system, which may cause more complications later in life. Withal, treatment can nevertheless be constructive, no matter when the virus is diagnosed.
There's a very minor grouping of people who, despite having HIV in their bodies, never develop AIDS. These patients are chosen "long-term nonprogressors," and it's non articulate what makes them resistant to the effects of HIV.
The best way to prevent the spread of HIV is to practice safe sex activity, as this is how about cases are transmitted. Consistent and correct condom utilize tin can foreclose the spread of the virus. Sharing needles when misusing injectable drugs is another common course of transmission, and it's of import to never share another person'due south needles or injecting equipment. If you're looking for aid in overcoming drug habit, contact the Substance Corruption and Mental Health Services Administration National Helpline at 1-800-662-4357 for free and confidential counseling.
HIV can be transmitted from a pregnant parent to their unborn child, and then it'due south important if y'all have HIV and become pregnant to inform your obstetrician immediately. They tin help you have steps to reduce the risk of spreading the affliction to your unborn infant. Consider the utilize of PrEP to preclude infection conquering if you're unable to avoid potential contact with HIV.
Resource Links:
https://world wide web.cdc.gov/hiv/default.html
https://world wide web.fpa.org.uk/sites/default/files/hiv-information-and-advice.pdf
https://www.aidsmap.com/news/mar-2020/yes-same-life-expectancy-hiv-negative-people-far-fewer-years-skillful-wellness
https://world wide web.nhs.uk/weather/hiv-and-aids/
https://medlineplus.gov/hivaids.html
https://bestpractice.bmj.com/patient-leaflets/en-gb/pdf/3000138/HIV%3A%20what%20is%20it%3F.pdf
https://www.tht.org.uk/hiv-and-sexual-health
https://www.hiv.gov/hiv-basics
Source: https://www.symptomfind.com/health-conditions/hiv-condition?utm_content=params%3Ao%3D740013%26ad%3DdirN%26qo%3DserpIndex
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