HIV & AIDS

Human Immunodeficiency Virus

• HIV is described as a retrovirus (its genetic material is RNA). It is converted to DNA when it enters the human body so that it can be incorporated into human chromosomes. This virus infects and destroys the helper T cell so the body is unable to defend itself against infection.

Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome

• A person has AIDS only in the final stages of HIV, after the immune system is unable to defend itself against foreign invaders like bacteria, other viruses and allows the development of certain cancers.

Statistics and Etiology

• Over 619,000 with HIV have already died since the epidemic began
• The most likely theories assume that HIV-1 was transmitted to humans from chimpanzees in the early 20^thcentury

Methods of transmission

• In semen and vaginal fluids during sexual intercourse
• Infected blood or blood products
• Contaminated hypodermic syringes
• From mother to fetus across placenta
• From mother to infant in breast milk

 Why is HIV difficult to control

• The virus’s long latent stage means it can be transmitted by people who have not started showing symptoms and do not yet know they have HIV.
• The virus also changes its surface proteins which makes it even harder for the immune system to identify it. This makes it difficult for a vaccine to be developed.

Symptoms                                     

HIV

• Flu-like symptoms
• There may not be any symptoms until years later(this period is known a latency)

AIDS

• Pneumonia
• Tuberculosis 
• Cancers
• Rapid weight loss
• Diarrhoea
• Fever that comes and goes(Pyrexia)
• Dementia
• Chronic fatigue
• Swollen lymph nodes
• White spots on mouth, tongue and throat
• Dry, flaky skin (Xeroderma)

An AIDS patient

Treatment

• There is no cure for AIDS and no vaccine for HIV. However, drug therapy can slow down the onset of AIDS and increase life expectancy for HIV-positive people. These drugs are similar to DNA nucleotides and bind to the viral enzyme to reverse transcriptase and block its action.

The drugs are however expensive and have side effects like; 

• rashes
• Headaches
• Diarrhoea
• Nerve damage
• Abnormal fat distribution

Prevention

• To prevent HIV transmission during sex, you need to use a condom. HIV can be spread through vaginal, anal and oral sex
• Open sores from STDs like herpes and syphilis provide a gateway for HIV to enter the body
• Gonorrhea and Chlamydia may weaken the skin and mucus barriers that help prevent infection
• If you inject drugs, use a new sterile needle each time to reduce the risk of HIV transmission
• Contact tracing can be employed to locate the people that a person who has contracted HIV has come into contact with so that they will be offered HIV tests.
• HIV positive mothers in high-income countries are advised not to breastfeed their babies.

Note!!

• HIV is not airborne and cannot be caught by touching skin, sweat or saliva
• Mosquitoes do not inject other people’s blood when they bite and so cannot spread HIV