The Disease
HIV and AIDS are deadly diseases. AIDS is a growing epidemic, and more attention should be called to the effects it has on a person mentally and physically.
AIDS and HIV literally destroys your body cell by cell. HIV is intercepted when body fluids are exchanged. The virus then travels in the blood stream looking for helper T cells, the directors of the immune system, to invade. The virus doesn't choose a cell randomly. It has to find a cell that fits it's receptor snugly. When the cell is found, it is given a chemical signal to produce new viruses. These new viruses go through the same process, and the HIV multiplies rapidly. This is one reason HIV is so deadly.
HIV is deadly for many reasons. At first, the infected person seems to have the flu. It goes away fairly soon, so it may be regarded as nothing.
Meanwhile the virus is killing more and more helper T cells. The B cells that produce antibodies discover the HIV virus and start producing antibodies, but without the helper T cells there is no one to direct them, and the virus isn't killed. As more and more helper T cells are killed, the immune system grows weak, and AIDS is developed. There is no definite symptom of AIDS, but you might have it if your glands are swollen persistently. As AIDS weakens your immune system, diseases that wouldn't affect a healthy person start to attack the body.
The diseases that attack the body when the immune system is weak are called opportunistic diseases. These diseases become very dangerous when they encounter a weak immune system. Most people with AIDS or HIV are killed by the opportunistic diseases. The most deadly of these diseases is PCP or pheumocystis carinii pneumonia. Its symptoms are a persistent cough, shortness of breath, chest pain, and a high fever. These diseases are not to be taken lightly. They can kill you. We think more attention should be paid to HIV and AIDS.
HIV and AIDS are deadly. AIDS has been called the plague of the twentieth century. It is a growing epidemic. We can't believe that more people die of the opportunistic diseases than AIDS or HIV. AIDS and HIV are not curable yet so all we can do is stay safe and hope that a cure is found in the future.
