Acquired immune deficiency syndrome is more commonly known as AIDS. It is caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). There are two types of HIV, type 1 and type 2; infection with either form can lead to AIDS, although HIV-2 seems to be a less aggressive form of the virus.

While HIV is infectious, it is not as contagious as some other viruses such as the common cold or influenza. It cannot, for example, be caught simply by touching and normal social contact, and is not spread by coughs and sneezes.

It is usually transmitted by the mixing of body fluids mainly blood, semen, and vaginal secretions. The most common route of transmission is through sexual inter course but it may also be passed on via blood transfusions and the sharing of needles by intravenous drug users.

The virus is also found in saliva and tears, although the concentration of viral particles is too low to be infectious. HIV affects all racial and social groups, as well as both heterosexuals and homosexuals.

AIDS weakens the body’s natural immune system to such an extent that it is unable to fight off opportunistic infections or control cancerous growths. AIDS sufferers often succumb to diseases that rarely cause any illness in the general population.

How Can I Tell IF I AM Hiv Positive?

The body’s response to infection with HIV is to produce antibodies, although they may take up to three months to appear. You would only be identified as HIV positive when antibodies are detected in your blood. For that reason, if you take an AIDS test too soon after possible exposure, it can be negative. It is usually recommended that you take a test about six months after you suspect infection may have taken place.

An HIV-positive person does not necessarily have AIDS, which may take up to ten years to develop, during which time he or she may remain well. It is therefore possible for people to be unaware they are HIV positive and to pass on the virus unknowingly.

Where Did Hiv Come From?

There are many theories about how the virus first entered the human population. HIV probably arose as a variant of a virus affecting Mrican monkeys and apes. It was able to cross over to infect the human population of Mrica, from where it spread to the rest of the world. Although it originally affected the homosexual community in the West, heterosexual transmission is now the main form of transmission worldwide.

How Can I Prevent It?

• The main route of HIV infection is through sex. It may be passed through both vaginal and anal intercourse. Sexual transmission may be prevented, however, by the use of good quality condoms. Spermicides actually kill the AIDS virus so they must always be used.
• Theoretically, sexual intercourse with only one infected individual is enough to pass on the HIV virus. Since it is impossible to tell whether an individual is HIV positive from his or her appearance, precautions must be used with all new sexual partners.
• Intravenous drug users can pass on the virus by sharing needles and syringes, so sharing needles should always be avoided.
• HIV has also been transmitted through infected blood products; the major group to be infected in this way were hemophiliacs. Now, however, all blood products are screened for HIV in most developed countries.
• Transmission from an HN-positive mother to her baby may also occur during pregnancy, birth, or breast-feeding.

Women And HIV

Women need to be assertive in order to protect themselves from HIV. The practice of “safe sex” should be compulsory for everyone until such time as you are able to confirm that your partner is HIV negative. Since it can take up to three months to produce antibodies, it’s best to practice safe sex until this “window of infection” is passed, and it should only be relaxed if your partner does not engage in any other potential high-risk activity such as intravenous drug use or unprotected intercourse with another person.

What Is The Treatment?

• Following a diagnosis of HIV, treatment is begun to try to slow down the rate of viral replication. Various drugs are prescribed to achieve this aim, and different combinations are being researched and developed all the time.
• These treatments have side effects but they do seem to decrease the rate of HIV multiplication in the body.
• Treatment of opportunistic infections depends on the specific agent infecting the patient. High-dose antibiotics and antiviral drugs are often given routinely to prevent an infection from taking hold.

Can HIV/AIDS Be Cured?

• Although the progression of HIV infection to AIDS may be slowed down, there is still no cure for AIDS, nor is there a vaccine to prevent infection with HIY. The problem is compounded because HIV attacks the immune system the route by which the body is usually able to fight infections and cancers. HIV-1 and 2 also seem to consist of various subtypes, which makes the likelihood of finding a universal vaccine remote.
• Death is nearly always due to over-whelming pneumonia or Kaposi’s sarcoma. The brain may be affected terminally giving rise to an illness resembling dementia.

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