infectious disease Essay

HIV/AIDS is a worldwide phenomenon that has affected so many people and killed millions over time. HIV stands for human immunodeficiency virus and AIDS stands for Auto immune deficiency syndrome. HIV is an infection that is sexually transmitted. Others ways it can be spread is through blood, from a mother during pregnancy, and through breast-feeding. HIV weakens your immune system to the point where you get AIDS. AIDS is a life threatening chronic condition with no cure. Symptoms for HIV/AIDS depend on what phase of the infection you are in. There are four different phases which include primary infection, clinical latent infection, early symptomatic HIV infection, and progression to AIDS. In the primary infection phase, people can have flu-like symptoms such as fever, muscle soreness, rash, headache, and sore throat. These symptoms usually show up within a month or two of the body being infected with the virus, and can last up to a few weeks. In this phase is also when the virus amount is its highest in the blood stream. The clinical latent infection phase there are no specific signs or symptoms but maybe some occasional swelling of the lymph nodes. This phase can last up to 10 years, where the HIV virus remains in the body and white blood cells. During the early symptomatic HIV infection phase the virus starts to multiply and destroy the immune cells. You can start to get more mild infections and chronic symptoms which include, fatigue, weight loss, diarrhea, and cough with shortness of breath. By the time you enter the progression to AIDS phase your immune system is severely damaged and diseases that a healthy immune system could fight off can become life threatening. A virus that was similar to HIV was first found in a certain type of monkey and chimps that were located in Africa. Scientists believe that the hunters that came in contact with the infected monkeys or chimps were infected with the virus and the cross of it into a humans body turned it into HIV. A person can be infected with HIV through blood, semen, and vaginal secretions that enter the body. Some of the ways you can become infected is through sex, blood transfusions, sharing needles, and through a mother during pregnancy. You cannot get the HIV virus from kissing, or touching an infected person, nor can you get it through the air or water. When HIV/AIDS first became know in the United States it was thought that it only affected homosexual men because that’s who was mostly affected by it. Of course we now know that HIV can affect any race, age, or sexual orientation. Although someone who is having unprotected sex, has another sexually transmitted disease, or is using intravenous drug is at a higher risk than someone who is not. You can test for HIV through blood or saliva to see if there are any antibodies to the virus in it, but this test can be inaccurate if you have just contracted the virus. There is a new test out that can find a protein that the virus produces within days of a person being infected. Though there is no cure for HIV/AIDS, there are many different drugs that can control the virus prolonging life. A combination of drugs is used, at least 3 different kinds. This is done so that you body and the virus does not get immune to one single drug. Some of the anti-HIV drugs that are used are non nucleoside and nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors, protease

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