HIV POSITIVE Vs AIDS

HIV POSITIVE Vs AIDS

AIDS (Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) is a syndrome caused by a virus called HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus). This virus attack on cells of the immune system & destroying or impairing their function which lead to progressive deterioration of the immune system, leading to "immune deficiency.” As the immune system weakens, the person is at risk of getting life-threatening infections and cancers and finally person have symptoms of AIDS.

 

Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV):

It belongs to the Lentivirus sub-group of Retroviridac family. HIV is an RNA retrovirus. The unique morphologic feature oh HIV is its cylindrical nucleotide in mature virion.The virus contain the 3 genes required for a replicating retrovirus – gap,pol and env. The virus has outermost envelope rich in glycoproteins (gp41,gp120,gp160) & inner core with two component protein (p18 ,p24).while the enzyme reverse transcriptase capable of the retrograde transcription of viral RNA to viral DNA mark its special feature. The incubation period seem to be long, ranging from 6 months to more than 2 years.

Inactivation of HIV:

10 minutes, treatment at 37 C can inactivate this virus, with 10% household bleach, 50% ethanol, 35% isopropanol, 0.5% Lysol & 0.3% hydrogen per oxide.

How is HIV transmitted?

The virus is transmitted person-to-person in any of the following ways:

• Unprotected sexual intercourse (vaginal or anal), and oral sex with an infected person.
• Transfusion of contaminated blood.
• Sharing of contaminated needles, syringes or other sharp instruments.
• Mother and her infant during pregnancy, childbirth and breastfeeding.

Listed below are health problems common in people with AIDS:

AIDS is characterized by pronounced suppression of immune system, the development of unusual neoplasm especially Kaposi’s sarcoma or wide variety of sever opportunistic infections. Other symptom include:-

• Loss of vision
• Coughing and shortness of breath
• Problems swallowing
• Severe and constant diarrhea
• Nausea, stomach cramps, and vomiting
• Fever
• Weight loss
• Feeling very tired all the time
• Seizures
• Pneumonia
• Coma
• Cancers of the skin or immune system

Treatment

There is no cure for HIV but some drugs are used in the treatment and prevention of HIV infection which is called antiretroviral therapy (ART), they fight HIV by stopping or interfering with the reproduction of the virus in the body, reducing the amount of virus in the body.

In the past, people with HIV infection would start antiretroviral treatment after their CD4 count dropped or they developed HIV complications. Today, HIV treatment is recommended for all people with HIV infection, even if their CD4 count is still normal.

If the CD4 count already dropped before treatment was started, it will usually slowly go up. HIV complications often disappear as the immune system recovers.

How is AIDS different from HIV positive?

HIV positive can be defined as when You have HIV but not have any symptoms that’s  mean HIV alive  in your body but they do not attack on your immune system i.e CD-4 cells  and some HIV tests will not show a positive result for as long as 3 months after infection. This is referred to as the  HIV test window period, and has to do with how HIV tests detect the virus.

Some people recently infected with HIV will experience some "flu-like" symptoms. These might include: Fever, Severe Fatigue, A non-itchy rash, swollen glands/lymph nodes, Muscle aches, Sore throat. Night sweats. These symptoms are called Acute Retroviral Syndrome and last from a few days to a few weeks.

After the acute phase, the virus typically becomes less active in the body for as long as 10 years, during which you might have no symptoms at all. An HIV test will still detect the virus during this period. This is one of the reasons that it's important for sexually active people to routinely get tested regularly - the signs of HIV infection are easy to miss or misinterpret.

AIDS can be defined as disease that later develops in people with HIV when HIV attack on CD 4 cells (immune cell) & continuing to replicate, leading to a gradual decline of CD4 cells and result in person are not able to protect himself from other infectious disease. Today, drugs make it possible for people with HIV infection to live a very long time before ever getting AIDS. How long you have the HIV infection before developing AIDS depends on a few things. Some of these things you can control, like taking your medicine on time every day.