HIV and AIDS

HIV and AIDS is a medical condition that involves the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). HIV is a virus that attacks the body's immune system, while AIDS is the most advanced stage of HIV infection.

Overview

HIV is a virus that attacks the body's immune system, specifically the CD4 cells, which help the immune system fight off infections. If left untreated, HIV reduces the number of CD4 cells in the body, making the person more likely to get infections or infection-related cancers. Over time, HIV can destroy so many of these cells that the body can't fight off infections and disease. These opportunistic infections or cancers take advantage of a very weak immune system and signal that the person has AIDS.

Transmission

HIV is transmitted through direct contact with certain body fluids from a person who has HIV. These body fluids include blood, semen, vaginal fluids, and breast milk. The transmission can occur during sexual behavior, sharing of needles, or from mother to child during pregnancy, birth, or breastfeeding.

Symptoms

The symptoms of HIV and AIDS can vary, but they may include rapid weight loss, recurring fever or profuse night sweats, extreme and unexplained tiredness, prolonged swelling of the lymph glands in the armpits, groin, or neck, diarrhea that lasts for more than a week, sores of the mouth, anus, or genitals, pneumonia, red, brown, pink, or purplish blotches on or under the skin or inside the mouth, nose, or eyelids, memory loss, depression, and other neurological disorders.

Treatment

While there is no cure for HIV, it can be controlled with proper medical care. The medicine used to treat HIV is called antiretroviral therapy (ART). If taken as prescribed, ART can dramatically prolong the lives of many people with HIV, keep them healthy, and greatly lower their chance of transmitting the virus to others.

Prevention

Prevention strategies include using condoms during sexual activity, limiting the number of sexual partners, never sharing needles, and using pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP).

See Also

• Antiretroviral therapy
• CD4 cells
• Opportunistic infections
• Pre-exposure prophylaxis
• Post-exposure prophylaxis

HIV and AIDS Resources
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