AIDS means acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. AIDS is past from person to person. The disease attacks the immune system which is not strong enough to fight this deadly disease. The AIDS disease has a number of symptoms and conditions that come with it. HIV causes the disease AIDS. HIV means human immunodeficiency virus. A virus is a very small organism that gets into a person’s body and makes a disease. The virus HIV also only affects humans. If someone has been infected with AIDS they are called HIV positive or seropositive. HIV weakens a persons immune system and causes the disease AIDS.
In order for the HIV virus to effect a person it must first enter the body’s bloodstream and then begin to attack parts of the person’s immune system. HIV destroys cells called T4-lymphocytes and macrophage. These cells are white blood cells. White blood cells are very important for fighting infection in the body’s immune system. Cells are small but because an organism of a virus is smaller it is able to live inside of the cell. The HIV organism reproduces by intercepting to white cells transmissions for reproduction. Basically it tricks the cells to produce more of the HIV organism instead of healthy white cells which fight infection. HIV will then destroy the cell in which it is living in to move to another cell. This will keep happening until the immune system is no longer able to fight against any disease or infection. HIV can then also spread to the central nervous system. This system includes the brain, spinal cord, and muscle movements. When the nervous system is infected it impairs vision, coordination, muscle control, and even the memory.
The HIV/AIDS viruses do not cause death by them selves. The pave the way for other disease to infect and kill. The most common death for people with AIDS is Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia and is also called PCP. This disease is related to one third of all AIDS related deaths.
To get HIV a person mush have sexual contact with someone infected already or by sharing a contaminated needle that has come in contact with HIV or AIDS. HIV can be spread not only by intercourse through the vagina but also by sexual contact either orally or anally. A person can also contract AIDS from blood transfusion. A mother is also capable of passing the disease to her unborn child. HIV can be found in blood, vaginal secretion, semen, or can be contained in breast milk. Transmission by these methods are the most dangerous and contagious ways to get the virus.
The virus can also be found in saliva, tears, and sweat. However, the amounts found in these bodily fluids are so low that receiving AIDS is virtually impossible. A person and not receive the AIDS virus by using the same bathroom or by sharing silverware. No one person can get AIDS by sharing food or drinks either, this is because AIDS can not live in the air. The virus can only live in the bloodstream. Touching a person with AIDS will not get you the disease either. The only way a person can get AIDS by touching someone is if they have a cut or sore that comes into direct contact with the persons’ bodily fluid that is infected.
Where AIDS began is not completely known to anyone. Some scientist do however suggest that AIDS originated in Africa. The first case in the United States was diagnosed in 1981 on the West Coast. When AIDS was first discovered they called the disease GRID, Gay Related Immune Deficiency. This is because all of the cases at that time were gay related.
A person can be can be infected with HIV and not be aware of it for many years. The only way to be completely sure that you do not have AIDS is to be tested if you have participated in any type of risky behavior. People are able to get a blood test that will show the presence of HIV. If the presence is shown the doctors will tell you that you are HIV positive. There is no test however for AIDS only tests that can detect the virus that causes AIDS. The test to determine HIV is a secrecy to everyone except you self. Permission by a parent is not needed and any age levels are allowed to receive the test. Depending on the kind of test preformed a person that is in fact infected by HIV might be able to find out he or she has been infected for. Testing for the most part is usually free. The test can determine if HIV is present as early as six weeks after infection. Many people also choose to go to centers that do anonymous testing that way a name is never given so no one will ever find out that they had went and gotten tested. There are several different types of test that can determine if a person has HIV or not.
The tests used to determine HIV are antibody tests such as ELISA test and Western blot test. Two other types of tests are antigen test, and a viral culture. Antibody testing is the most common type of test. Blood is tested to check for antibodies to the AIDS virus. These antibodies are produced when the immune systems recognizes it has been taken over by the HIV virus. ELISA stands for enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. This antibody test is used in most HIV tests. The Wester blot test is also another antibody test that indicated protein of the HIV virus. The difference between the two is that the Western blot is more specific than the ELISA test and that it also more difficult and more expensive to preform therefore it is used less often than the ELISA. The antigen test is used only after a positive reading of the antibody tests have been determined. This test is basically used to double check. This test actually tests the HIV virus itself and not just the antibodies of the virus. It can usually also tell what Stage the virus is in. A viral culture is a test that scientist use after the two other tests have been run. They use this culture to help grow HIV from a sample of the infected persons bodily fluid. It is basically used to see how the virus works and to try and get a better look at the AIDS virus.
Treatment for the virus is different from person to person because people are not alike. Because people are different the diseases progression in each person is different also. Doctor will do many tests to determine what types of treatments are best for each individual person. There are many different kinds of drugs used to treat HIV and AIDS that are used in combination with one another. Nucleoside analogs, protease inhibitor, and non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors are most often the combination of drugs given to patients as treatment. Each medication is different but they all basically work in the same way, they help keep the T-helper cells strong. If these cells are strong it can keep the number of them above 200. Some nucleoside analogs are AZT, Videx, Epivir, and Zerit. Invirase, Norvir, and Fortovase are all protease inhibitors. Non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors are Viramune and Rescriptor. All of these methods of treatments are extremely strong and powerful and a person using these drugs should follow doctors orders exactly.
People should remember that this disease effects many people and there is no reason to be scared of it if proper precautions are taken. Always where a condom before having sex it is the best way to prevent from getting the disease aside from abstinence. If a person uses intravenous needles he or shoe should make sure that they either have a new clean needle or sterilize the needle that they are planning on using. For all of the mother take care of yourself and your unborn children. If you follow all of the doctors instructions on what to do and do not breast feed your child may be able to grow over the disease. Everyone should be safe but do not discriminate others that have the virus because they are humans too. A person can not get HIV by being nice to someone. The only way the disease can be contracted is by direct contact from bodily fluid to bodily fluid.