AIDS stand for : Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome.
Human immuno deficiency virus (HIV) causes AIDS. The virus attacks the immune system and leaves the the body vulnerable to a variety of life threating infections.
HIV has been found in saliva, tears, nervous system tissue and spinal fluid, blood, semen (including pre-seminal fluid, which is the liquid that comes out before ejaculation), vaginal fluid and breast milk. However, only blood, semen, vaginal secretions and breast milk generally transmits infection to others.
The virus can be spread (transmitted) :
1. Through sexual contact: including oral, vaginal and anal sex.
2. Through blood via blood transfusions or needle sharing.
3. From mother to Child : (Transplacental) a pregnant women can transmit the virus to her foetus through their shared blood circulation or a nursing mother can transmit it to her baby from her breast milk.
Other methods of spreading the virus are rare and include accidental needle injury, artificial insemination with infected donated semen and organ transplantation with infected organs.
HIV infection is NOT spread by : Casual contact such as hugging, mosquitoes, participation in sports, touching items previously touched by a person infected with the virus.
AIDS begins with HIV infection. People infected with HIV may have no symptoms for 10 years or longer, but they can still transmit the infection to others during this symptom-free period. If the infection is not detected and treated, the immune system gradually weakens and AIDS develops.
Acute HIV infection progresses over time (usually a few weeks to months) to asymptomatic HIV infection (no symptoms) and then to early symptomatic HIV infection. Later, it progresses to AIDS (advanced HIV infection with CD4 T-cell count below 200 cells/mm3 ).
Almost all people infected with HIV, if not treated, will develop AIDS. A small group of patients develop AIDS very slowly or never at all. These patients are called nonprogressors and many seem to have a genetic difference that prevents the virus from damaging their immune system.
The symptoms of AIDS are primarily the results of infections that do not normally develop in individuals with healthy immune systems. These are called opportunistic infections.
People with AIDS have had their immune system damaged by HIV and are very susceptible to these opportunistic infections.
Common symptoms Of AIDS :
Chills, Fevers, Sweat (particularly at night), Swollen lymph glands, Weakness and weight loss.
There is no cure for AIDS at present. However, a variety of treatments are available that can help to keep symptoms ay bay and improve the quality of life for those who have already developed symptoms.
Antiretroviral therapy suppresses the replication of the HIV virus in the body. A combination of several antiretroviral drugs, called highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), has been very effective in reducing the number of HIV particles in the blood stream. This is measured by the viral load (how much virus is found in the blood). Preventing the virus from replicating can improve T-cells counts and help the immune system recover from the HIV infection.