HIV AIDS does not have the frightening reputation that it had in last decades. However, it is still a dangerous disease, particularly in under developed countries. The entire world still needs to be well informed about it to do its best to avoid it. With that in mind here are 10 facts you must know about HIV AIDS. In this post, we will learn about what is HIV AIDS and facts about HIV AIDS.
Human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two Lentivirus (a retrovirus subgroup) species that infect people. They lead to developed immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a disorder in which the immune system gradually fails, allowing dangerous infections and malignancies to flourish that are life-threatening.
Depending on the HIV subtype, the typical survival duration after infection with HIV is expected to be 9 to 11 years without therapy. HIV is a sexually transmitted infection that is spread through contact or transmission of blood, pre-ejaculate semen, and vaginal secretions. Non-sexual transmission can occur from an infected mother to her newborn during pregnancy, birth, or through breast milk as baby can be exposed to her blood or vaginal fluid. HIV is present in these body fluids as free virus particles as well as virus inside infected immune cells.
Helper T cells (particularly CD4+ T cells), macrophages, and dendritic cells are all essential cells in the human immune system that are infected by HIV. HIV infection causes a reduction in CD4+ T cells by a variety of processes, including pyroptosis of abortively infected T cells, apoptosis of uninfected bystander cells, direct viral death of infected cells, and CD8+ cytotoxic lymphocytes that detect infected cells. Cell-mediated immunity is lost when CD4+ T cell levels fall below a crucial threshold, and the body becomes progressively weak to opportunistic infections, enabling the development of AIDS.
Facts about HIV AIDS?
1. It affects the immune system
An HIV infection causes the immune system to deteriorate, creating instability and allowing infectious microorganisms to take hold and develop. Once 20 or more opportunistic infections or malignancies have entered the body, the HIV infection is said to have progressed to the AIDS phase.
2. It transmits via bodily fluids
HIV cannot be passed from one person to another through sneezing. It is spread among people through the transfer of body fluids. As a result, the most common carriers of HIV include blood, sperm, breast milk, vaginal fluids, and rectal fluids.
3. Anyone can get it
There is no such thing as HIV immunity, nor is there a certain set of people who can develop it. HIV can infect anyone, regardless of their lifestyle. Despite the fact that living conditions and socioeconomic level might affect the number of reported cases, everyone is at risk.
4. You may not know you have it
There are no exact symptoms that suggest an HIV infection. You may have it a long time before you find out that you’ve been infected. The initial symptoms are regular illnesses such as flu or a slight fever. The only way to learn you have it is to get tested, ideally before it progresses to AIDS.
5. An HIV infection is now manageable
HIV infection is no longer a death sentence. AIDS has become a treatable disease rather than a deadly one with the advent of antiretroviral medication, or ART. However, in order for ART to succeed, HIV infection must be discovered as early as feasible; otherwise, late-stage AIDS becomes too hard to manage.
6. There are two HIV strains
While we only know HIV, there are two predominant strains of it found throughout the world. HIV-1 is the more popular kind that is likely to develop into AIDS. HIV-2 is mostly found in West Africa and is less likely to lead to AIDS.
7. You can prevent HIV infection
You can protect yourself from an HIV infection by taking appropriate steps. Simple methods include having protected sex and not sharing hypodermic needles. You simply need to make sure foreign bodily fluids do not make their way inside you and less from someone you know who is not infected.
8. AIDS supports opportunistic infections
Although having AIDS raises the risk of catching opportunistic infections, it is not AIDS that causes illness. Instead, it is the infections. It makes room for that to lead to sickness. Pneumonia, tuberculosis, and several kinds of cancers can fester in the body because of AIDS.
9. You do not get HIV from saliva
Because saliva from an infected person cannot spread the disease unless it is combined with blood. So, living with an infected individual will not infect you if no bodily fluids are mingled.
10. AIDS is still a major problem
More than 70 million people have been infected by AIDS since it was first detected. 35 million of them have died. Although ART has made living with HIV manageable, ate-stage AIDS is still incredibly dangerous with a life expectancy of three years since detection.
World AIDS Day
World AIDS Day, designated on 1 December every year since 1988, is an international day dedicated to raising awareness of AIDS.
So these are some facts about HIV AIDS. For more articles, visit our website.
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