What is HIV
HIV stands for “Human Immuno-deficiency virus”. This virus slowly damages a person’s immune system. The immune system protects the body against infections and diseases. One way of thinking about the immune system is to see it as the body’s army – its job is to defend the body from attack by germs and other dangerous organisms. A virus is like a germ. It attacks people’s cells and causes diseases.
It is very important to note that if you have HIV, it does not mean that you are sick. It sometimes takes years for someone who has HIV to develop AIDS. During this time, people who have HIV can lead totally normal lives.
What is AIDS
HIV leads to AIDS. When a person’s immune system has become to weakened by HIV that it cannot fight off infections anymore, we say that a person has developed “Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome” or AIDS. Opportunistic infections (illnesses that take advantage of the body’s weakened immune system) include thrush, tuberculosis (TB), skin rashes, shingles and others.
What is the difference between HIV and AIDS
HIV is a virus. HIV stands for Human Immunodeficiency
Virus. Once it infects a body, HIV never goes away, and that person is “HIV
positive” for life. Over time, the virus infects and destroys white blood
cells called CD4 lymphocytes. (Usually, the body has a CD4 count of 600 to
1,200.)This weakens the body so it cannot fight off certain kinds of
infections.
AIDS is the disease caused by the HIV virus. AIDS stands
for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. Think of AIDS as the advanced stage
of HIV infection. It usually takes 2-10 years or more for an HIV-infected
person to develop AIDS.
A person is diagnosed with AIDS in one of two ways: the
person’s CD4 count drops below 200, or the person is diagnosed with an
opportunistic infection. When a person has AIDS, his or her immune system is
so weak that the person is highly vulnerable to these opportunistic
infections, which include PCP (a type of pneumonia) or KS (Kaposi sarcoma),
tuberculosis, wasting syndrome (involuntary weight loss), and memory
impairment. Once AIDS has been diagnosed, the person is always considered to
have AIDS, even if his or her CD4 count rises again or he or she recovers
from an opportunistic infection.
Is there any cure ?
Currently there is no cure for AIDS but having HIV does
not mean that you are going to die right away. Many people are able to live
full lives with HIV for many years. Your ability to live with HIV has a lot
to do with the kind of health care, treatment and support you get.
There are many treatments available that help people with
HIV stay healthy for longer and live better lives. Unfortunately the majority of people with HIV and AIDS do not get the medical care they need and their rights are often violated.
How is it transmitted ?
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Having sexual intercourse with someone who is infected.
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Injecting drugs using a needle or syringe which has already been used.
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An infected pregnant women can pass the virus on to her unborn baby either before or during birth. HIV can also be passed during Breast-Feeding.
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Oral sex with an infected person does carry some risk of infection. But infection from Oral Sex (blow jobs) on its own seems to be very rare.
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