I’m glad you found yourself here because for the next 15+ minutes ,we are going to walk through the HIV and AIDS story and by the time you read the last word of this article you will be knowledgeable .What is this HIV? Everyone keeps talking about, why does it attract so much attention?Follow carefully as we demystify HIV and AIDS ,don’t lose me from now onwards.HIV stands for human immunedeficiency virus and it is a retrovirus.A retrovirus is a type of RNA virus that inserts a copy of its genome into the DNA of a host cell that it invades,thus changing the genome of that cell.When the virus enters a human body it targets a group of white blood cells called CD4 cells.The virus uses an enzyme called reverse transcriptase to convert its RNA into DNA.The HIV DNA is incoporated into the host cell DNA and the intergrated HIV DNA is called a pro virus.This means that the HIV virus becomes part of the cell genetic material and the cell produces more of the HIV virus.AIDS on the other hand is the advanced stage on HIV infection.AIDS stands for Acquired immunedeficiency syndrome.Most of the times people ask questions like, do I have AIDS if Im HIV positive?AIDs is a syndrome like I alluded to earlier in the article , which is a manifestation of the immunocompromisation which is caused by HIV infection.Remember those CD4 cells we talked about earlier? Great! Our bodies have a pre-programmed defence system which protects us from infectious organisms.HIV infection destroys this immune system and leaves the body susceptible to various infections.Do I have AIDs if I’m HIV positive? The answer is NO,the viral load can be kept at very low levels if you quickly get started on treatment and you don’t immediately go into AIDS.AIDS is diagnosed when the CD4 T cell count falls below 200 cells/mm3.
How does one get infected?
HIV is transmitted from an infected individual through blood and other body secretions.Unprotected sex with an infected person ,predisposes one to HIV infection,sharing sharp tools, blood transfusions(rarely),infected mother to unborn child are some of the ways one can get infected.
Who is at risk?
Anyone can get infected by HIV.Drug abusers who use intravenous methods to administer drugs,anyone who engages in unprotected sex with an infected person are at a higher risk.Studies show that youth are most vulnerable to contracting HIV due to high risk behavious they engage in such as sexual experimentation and drug abuse.
How do I protect myself from HIV ?
-Abstinence
-practicing safe sex ie correct use of condoms
-Consider male circumcision which significantly reduce the chances of getting HIV infection.
-Refrain from having multiple sexual partners.
How is it detected?
The body’s response to the invasion by the virus is called an immunological response.The body immune system release antibodies ,which are proteins intended to contain and destroy the virus.Some HIV tests take advantage of this process and their mechanism is to test for these HIV antibodies in blood.The other tests are :
1.antigen/antibody tests which can detect both HIV antibodies and HIV antigens in the blood .
2.Nucleic acid tests(NATs) which look for HIV in the blood.
Treatment.
When one was diagnosed with HIV infection some years back it was a death sentence,but today one can live long as long as they take medications to suppress the viral load.If you get tested and you are HIV positive ,you immediately get started on antiretroviral therapy (ART) unlike in previous years where the clinicians waited until your CD4 count drops to less than 200cells/mm3.A combination of drugs is used in the regiment and they affect different areas in the HIV cycle.It is advised to get tested frequently, when detected early it is easier to control the HIV infection.
Stay safe and know your status always!
Written by
Bright Zenda(Medical Student )
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