| What is AIDS?
AIDS stands for a condition called acquired immunodeficiency syndrome.
Although it is a long name, it is easy to understand if you take it one
word at a time.
The word acquired tells us that AIDS is something that a person
gets, or acquires, from another person. However, it isn't genetic;
it isn't something that you would inherit from your parents like your height,
color of your hair, or skin tone. It is also not an illness that can occur
without an apparent reason (like cancer) or as a result of the body's aging
process. (like Alzheimer's disease)
Immuno from immunodeficiency refers to the body's immune system.
The immune system is the part of the body that fights off infections. When
your body is invaded with organisms that cause disease, the immune system
prevents you from getting sick by attacking these organisms. A deficiency
means that there is a lack of something, or not enough of it to work properly.
So, immunodeficiency means that a person's immune system is not
strong enough to work correctly and is lacking the ability to fight off
disease-causing organisms that, normally, it would destroy easily.
Syndrome, means a group of conditions or symptoms that show something
wrong. Therefore, a person with AIDS has a group of conditions or symptoms
that indicate that s/he has become infected with a virus that is causing
the immune system to become weakened to the point where substances that
would normally be destroyed are now able to survive and cause infections
and diseases.
Go back to the top
What causes AIDS?
AIDS is caused by a virus called HIV. HIV stands for human immunodeficiency
virus. Just like we did for AIDS, it's easiest to understand HIV if
we take it one word at a time. In this case, we will start with the last
word, virus. A virus is a very small organism that invades a person's body
and causes disease. Different viruses cause different illnesses. For example,
the flu virus causes the flu and the measles virus gives you the measles.
In this case, the virus HIV causes AIDS. We already know that immunodeficiency
means that a person has a weakened immune system. If we link this to the
word virus, we know that HIV is a virus that causes immunodeficiency, a
breakdown in the body's immune system. The first part of HIV, human, lets
us know that this is a virus that affects only people, not animals. Putting
this all together, we can determine that HIV is a virus that causes the
condition of immunodeficiency in humans.
When a person has been infected by the AIDS virus, we say that she or he
is HIV-positive, or seropositive. This means that the person's blood has
tested positive for the presence of HIV.
Go back to the top
How does HIV cause
AIDS?
HIV causes AIDS by weakening a person's immune system. The immune system
is made up of different parts, each of which has a different job in fighting
infections. While someone is HIV infected, the amount of virus in the body
increases. Simultaneously, the number of helper T-cells decreases. As the
helper T-cells are lost, the body's immune defenses slowly fail and the
body gradually become vulnerable to various infections and tumors. When
symptoms such as swollen lymph nodes and low-grade fever occur, the stage
of the disorder is called AIDS-related complex (ARC). When the CD4 lymphocyte
count drops below 200/microliter, the stage of clinical AIDS has been reached.
When this occurs, opportunistic infections start invading the body. Opportunistic
infections are caused by bacteria or viruses that are able to invade the
body only when its immune defenses care severely lacking.
As HIV destroys more and more cells in the immune system, it is easier
for opportunistic infections and cancers to invade the body. People with
AIDS may get many opportunistic infections during the course of their illness,
either one at a time or several at once. Eventually, the immune system
is so suppressed that one or more of these infections or cancers develops
and cannot be treated successfully. When we say that someone has died of
AIDS, we mean that she or he has died as a result of one of these opportunistic
infections or cancers.
Go back to the top
How come our body can't
destroy AIDS?
A detailed description of what HIV does in our body is in Question
#5.
Go back to the top
What does HIV do in
our body?
When a person is infected by HIV, the virus enters the bloodstream, which
is part of the immune system. HIV then begins to attack parts of the immune
system. In particular, HIV invades and destroys T-lymphocytes (they are
also called T-cells or helper lymphocytes) and macrophages, two types of
white blood cells that are very important in fighting off infections. A
virus is much smaller than a blood cell, so HIV is able to enter T-cells
and macrophages and live inside them. HIV then uses the genetic material
found in these cells to reproduce itself. In a process called transcription,
a cell reads the codes found in its genetic material and makes a perfect
copy of itself. What HIV does is interrupt the transcription process and
trick a healthy cell into producing a copy of the AIDS virus rather than
a copy of itself. In effect, it turns a healthy cell into a factory that
produces copies of the AIDS virus. Eventually, HIV destroys the cell that
it has invaded and moves on to another cell. When enough of these cells
are destroyed, the body is unable to fight infections. HIV may also spread
to the central nervous system, the system of the body that includes the
brain and spinal cord and is involved in muscle movement, eyesight, and
other functions. When the central nervous system is infected with HIV,
vision, coordination, muscle control, and memory may all be affected.
Go back to the top
How is AIDS transmitted?
HIV is transmitted only when the virus comes into direct contact
with someone's bloodstream. This can happen primarily in four ways: through
sexual intercourse, by using infected needles and syringes to inject intravenous
drugs or steroids, from an infected mother to her unborn baby, or by receiving
infected blood or blood products. Take a look at the Fact
and Fiction section to get more detailed information.
Go back to the top
What parts of the body
can contain HIV?
When a person is infected with HIV, the virus will be present in one or
more of his or her bodily fluids. The bodily fluids most likely to contain
HIV are blood, semen, vaginal secretions, and breast milk.
HIV has been found in saliva, tears, and sweat of some infected people,
but in such small amounts that coming into contact with these fluids is
not dangerous. HIV has also been found in the urine of some people infected
with HIV, though it is very unlikely that contact with an infected person's
urine will cause transmission. The feces of infected people may contain
blood, and it is theoretically possible that HIV could be transmitted by
this means, since the blood of an infected person always contains the AIDS
virus; but the risk is only slightly more than that in coming into contact
with tears or saliva.
Although it is highly unlikely that a person will become infected by touching
the bodily fluids of someone with the AIDS virus, HIV can enter the bloodstream
through cuts or sores on the hands or other parts of the body, so people
who care for AIDS patients may wear rubber gloves when handling clothes,
sheets, or bandages that have come into contact with bodily substances.
This prevents any infected material from coming into contact with broken
skin.
Go back to the top
Does everyone exposed
to HIV contract the virus?
It is impossible to say what percentage of people exposed to HIV will contract
the virus. Just as not everyone exposed to the viruses that cause typhoid
fever, colds, or other diseases automatically catches these diseases, the
AIDS virus doesn't automatically infect everyone who comes into contact
with it. Some people have been exposed to the AIDS virus many times without
contracting it; others have been exposed only once and become infected.
This does not, however, mean that certain people are immune to HIV or can't
be infected by the virus. Everyone can become infected with HIV.
Go back to the top
How many people are
infected with HIV/AIDS?
Check out our Statistics page to
get detailed information about the number of HIV infected people.
Go back to the top
How do you know if
you are infected HIV?
You won't know the instant you are infected with AIDS. However, some people
develop an acute flu like syndrome, similar to mononucleosis, within 2
to 3 weeks of becoming infected. This is then followed by a long period
during which the person is asymptotic, or has no symptoms at all. This
period can last for many years. During this period, the virus will continue
to multiply until you will once again develop symptoms of HIV infection.
Check out Question 11 to find out more about the
early symptoms of HIV.
Go back to the top
What are the early
symptoms of HIV infection?
The symptoms of HIV infection are similar to many of the symptoms that
accompany common illnesses. The difference between the symptoms of HIV
infection and the symptoms of common illnesses is that the symptoms of
HIV infection will last much longer than those for common illnesses and
will be much more severe. For instance, having diarrhea is not uncommon.
But people infected with HIV may have diarrhea very frequently with no
apparent cause. Swollen glands are a common symptom of having the flu.
But having swollen glands in several parts of your body for no reason may
be a symptom of HIV infection. A chart of common symptoms of HIV infection
is shown below.
-
Very high fevers (over 103") that last for more than three to five days
-
A cough that brings up fluid from the lungs and lasts several weeks.
-
Purplish blotches on the skin that are not the result of contact with irritating
chemicals.
-
Sores and infections that will not go away even after medical treatment.
-
Tiredness or weakness that lasts for many weeks without explanation.
-
Lymph nodes in at least two sites on the body that are swollen to marble-size
or larger.
-
Rapid weight loss (10 pounds or more) that is not the result of dieting.
-
Painful or thick whitish coating in the mouth, , or rectum with no
apparent cause.
-
Repeated colds, flues, or flu like symptoms that last for days at a time
and recur frequently.
-
Frequent diarrhea that has no apparent cause.
Go back to the top
What's the difference
between being HIV-positive and having full-blown AIDS?
Being HIV-positive simply means that the body has been invaded by the AIDS
virus. Just because a person is HIV-positive does not mean that he or she
is sick. A person can be HIV-positive for many years before developing
any serious infections. A person is said to have full-blown AIDS when she
or he meets certain requirements established by the Centers for Disease
Control. In general, a person has to test positive for an antibodies to
the AIDS virus (be HIV-positive, or seropositive) and have been severely
affected by one or more of various opportunistic infections or cancers
recognized by the CDC as resulting from immunosuppression. The opportunistic
infections and cancers used by the CDC to diagnose full-blown AIDS are
also called indicator diseases, because they show, or indicate, that a
person has AIDS.
Go back to the top
If you have HIV, how
long does it take to get full-blown AIDS?
That depends on the person who is infected and how quickly the virus breaks
down in his or her immune system. Some people have been infected for over
ten years without developing any major infections or complications.
Others develop full-blown AIDS within a year or two of becoming infected.
In general, it appears that about 30% of HIV positive people develop an
AIDS indicator disease within the first 5 years after testing positive,
and 50% within nine years.
Go back to the top
Does everyone who
has HIV get full-blown AIDS?
AIDS is a relatively new disease, and we have been studying it for only
a little over 17 years. Because of the long incubation period that AIDS
has, no one is absolutely certain what percentage of people infected with
HIV will actually develop full-blown AIDS. Until more time has gone by
and researchers have had time to monitor the progress of people infected
with HIV in recent years, we won't have any final answers. However, researchers
are 99% sure that an HIV positive person will develop AIDS. What is important
to remember is that, even if an HIV-positive person never develops AIDS,
he or she will always have the AIDS virus in his or her system for as long
as he or she lives and will always be able to transmit the virus to other
people.
Go back to the top
What are the chances
that I should contract HIV in the United States?
The answer really depends on what type of lifestyle you have. If you don't
have take intravenous drugs and don't have sex until you're married, you're
chances will be a lot lower than of someone who partakes in these activities.
However, the AIDS epidemic seems to be affecting some groups of young people
more severely than others. Young women are being hit particularly hard.
So are homeless young people and bisexual and gay male teenagers. Check
out the stats to find out how many
of your teens in your peer group are infected with HIV.
Go back to the top
Do all people with
AIDS die?
Because AIDS only been studied for less than 2 decades, it is hard to say
if all people diagnosed with full-blown AIDS will die. Because of HIV's
long incubation period, it is hard to even know who has and who doesn't
have HIV. The longest an AIDS patient has survived is 17 years. But because
AIDS information is becoming more readily available, people are getting
tested sooner and starting treatment sooner. And as new treatments are
developed, people with AIDs will live longer and healthier lives.
Go back to the top
Is the United States
the only country with AIDS?
Definantly not. AIDS is a worldwide problem. AT the end of 1991, the World
Health Organization reported almost 500,000 cases of AIDS worldwide. This
number has increased tremendously since then and is an underestimated number
because many countries do not have adequate facilities for diagnosing or
tracking people with AIDS. It is believed that some Central African towns
have over 50% of their population infected with HIV. Check out the Statistics
section to find out more specific information on this subject.
Go back to the top
Is there a vaccine
for AIDS?
Right now, there isn't a vaccine for AIDS. This means that you can't get
a short to protect yourself from HIV like you can for polio or measles.
Because AIDS has only been studied for 17 years, it's very difficult to
manufacture a vaccine that would work on everyone. Even within one person,
the virus is able to change its structure over time, or mutate,
So, a vaccine that might help one day might not be useful the next. Scientists
are working to develop a vaccine for HIV, but it is doubtful that an effective
vaccine will be available for another 10 years.
|
