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Understanding HIV for At-Risk Groups

The document discusses what HIV is and how it attacks the immune system. It is a virus spread through contact with certain bodily fluids that can lead to AIDS. There is currently no cure for HIV and once infected someone has it for life. Over time HIV causes AIDS by progressively weakening the immune system.

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Laura Grama
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14 views1 page

Understanding HIV for At-Risk Groups

The document discusses what HIV is and how it attacks the immune system. It is a virus spread through contact with certain bodily fluids that can lead to AIDS. There is currently no cure for HIV and once infected someone has it for life. Over time HIV causes AIDS by progressively weakening the immune system.

Uploaded by

Laura Grama
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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WHAT IS HIV The HIV human immunodeficiency virus is a virus that attacks cells that help the body

fight infection, making a person more vulnerable to other infections and diseases. It is spread by
contact with certain bodily fluids of a person with HIV, most commonly during sex with a condom or
sex without a condom HIV can lead to the disease AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome). The
human body can’t get rid of HIV and no effective HIV cure exists. So, once you have HIV, you have it
for life. In addition, there are effective methods to prevent getting HIV through sex or drug use,
including preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP). The human
immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of Lentivirus (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect
humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which
progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers
to thrive. The average survival time after infection with HIV is estimated to be 9 to 11 years. In most
cases, HIV is a sexually transmitted infection and occurs by contact with or transfer of blood, pre-
ejaculate, semen, and vaginal fluids. Non-sexual transmission can occur from an infected mother to
her infant during pregnancy, during childbirth by exposure to her blood or vaginal fluid, and through
breast milk. Within these bodily fluids, HIV is present as both free virus particles and virus within
infected the vital immune cells in the human immune system, such as helper T cells (specifically CD4+
T cells), macrophages, and dendritic cells. HIV infection leads to low levels of CD4+ T cells through a
number of mechanisms, including pyroptosis of abortively infected T cells, apoptosis of uninfected
bystander cells, direct viral killing of infected cells, and killing of infected CD4+ T cells by CD8+
cytotoxic lymphocytes that recognize infected cells. When CD4+ T cell numbers decline below a
critical level, cell-mediated immunity is lost, and the body becomes progressively more susceptible to
opportunistic infections, leading to the development of AIDS.

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