AIDS - What is AIDS?

AIDS is caused by the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). It is a preventable disease and can be managed with treatment. There is no cure or vaccine for AIDS. But the course of the disease can be slowed down by antiretroviral treatment. It can extend the life expectancy of the patients when used before significant disease progression. Effective treatment for HIV positive people involves lifelong medical treatment.

This Story also Contains

1. What is AIDS?
2. The Emergence of AIDS
3. Causes of AIDS
4. Symptoms of AIDS
5. How AIDS is Transmitted
6. Prevention of AIDS
7. Difference Between HIV and AIDS
8. Information About AIDS
9. MCQs on AIDS
10. Recommended Video on AIDS

Treatment is recommended as soon as the diagnosis is made. The HIV positive person who has a lower viral load has effectively no risk of transmitting the virus. Without treatment, the infection can interfere with the immune system and eventually cause the disease. AIDS also makes the person immunocompromised, and he/she is likely to contract different diseases faster. AIDS is the topic of the chapter Human Health and Disease. It is a chapter in the biology subject.

What is AIDS?

AIDS refers to the final stage of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection, at which the virus severely weakens the body's immune system. HIV is a sexually transmitted infection (STI). HIV is a lentivirus, which means a "slow virus". This lentivirus is a member of the retrovirus family, which slowly attacks and destroys the immune system. This leads to a variety of other common infections and makes people vulnerable to death.

The Emergence of AIDS

In 1982, researchers coined the term "AIDS" as they realised the impact of the virus beyond its earlier connection to certain groups of people. On June 5, 1981, the United States Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a report that five gay men in Los Angeles had a rare type of lung infection called Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia.

Initially, some researchers seemed to confine themselves to homosexuals, hence the name Gay-Related Immune Deficiency Syndrome (GRID). The disease was commonly referred to in the media as the "gay plague." However, the disease was also identified in her IDU, who was infected primarily through sharing contaminated hypodermic needles. It has also been observed in women who have male sexual partners. As a result, the term "acquired immune deficiency syndrome," or AIDS, was introduced to describe the disease. The CDC published its first report using the term in 1982. By 1984, researchers working in Africa provided clear evidence of heterosexual transmission of HIV.

Causes of AIDS

AIDS is caused by HIV infection. This happens when an individual develops HIV, which later kills CD4 cells, famously known as T cells, hence becoming key players in fighting infections. The disease eventually becomes AIDS if it is not treated. The causes of AIDS are described below:

• Lack of Treatment: HIV, in the absence of ART, progresses to AIDS after around 10 to 15 years.

• Co-infections: Other infections or diseases can add up to the harm that HIV has caused to the body.

• Malnutrition: A weak body due to malnutrition makes it harder for people to resist infections.

Symptoms of AIDS

The symptoms of AIDS can vary greatly depending on the stage of HIV infection. The following table is a summary of the stages and their symptoms:

How AIDS is Transmitted

AIDS, or Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, is caused by the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). There are many ways in which the HIV virus is transmitted.

• AIDS can spread through unprotected sex if one of the partners is affected by the HIV virus.

• HIV can also be transmitted through oral sex, especially if there are open sores, bleeding gums, or other STIs.

• It can also spread through sharing contaminated needles while getting a tattoo or blood examination.

• Blood transfusions are also another way of spreading the virus

• It can also be transferred to the mother to the child during pregnancy through the placenta.

The need to spread these facts helps avoid spreading myths and thereby de-stigmatises such a disease. Many people are wrongly assuming that they can contract AIDS through common interaction; however, this is not so.

Types of Transmissions

AIDS is not spread through the air, water, or even from touching someone. It is obtained from particular body fluids:

• Blood: Blood from an infected person is acquired through a blood transfusion into a healthy body. This risk is much reduced due to very vigorous screening of blood samples.

• Semen: Unprotected sexual intercourse with an infected person transfers the virus from an HIV-positive body to a healthy one.

• Breast Milk: A baby breastfed from an infected mother introduces the virus into the baby's body

• Fluid from the vagina and Rectum: These fluids also carry HIV, thus transmission occurs during sexual activities.

• Needles: Infection by HIV occurs through the shared use of needles or syringes with someone who has HIV, hence injecting the virus directly into a healthy person's bloodstream.

Perinatal Transmission

• AIDS can be transferred from an infected mother to her baby during pregnancy, birth, or even in breastfeeding.

• Antiretroviral drugs can significantly reduce the chances of infection for babies whose mothers have HIV.

Prevention of AIDS

Prevention of the passage of HIV and, therefore, AIDS has several techniques. Such techniques can be adopted to ensure they are not affected by the virus.

Difference Between HIV and AIDS

Understanding that there's a difference between HIV and AIDS is important for awareness. One is the virus (HIV) and the other is disease (AIDS) caused by the virus.

Information About AIDS

The cases identified at the time to be known as AIDS were first reported among gay men in Los Angeles during the year 1981. An estimated 39 million people are now living with HIV/AIDS around the globe. Modern antiretroviral therapy (ART) allows a person infected with HIV to lead a virtually normal life if they adhere to their schedule of treatment.

Most people believe that HIV can be transmitted by casual contact: hugging, kissing, touching, saliva, or other casual contact; and it cannot be transmitted through saliva or casual contact. If the person living with HIV is on treatment and has an undetectable viral load, they are not able to transmit the virus sexually

MCQs on AIDS

Q1. The causative organism of AIDS spreads by

Option 1: Sharing infected needles and syringes

Option 2: Transfusion of infected blood

Option 3: Unsafe sexual relationships

Option 4: All of these

Correct answer: 4) All of these

Explanation:

HIV can spread by:

(a) sexual contact with an infected person

(b) by transfusion of contaminated blood and blood products,

(c) by sharing infected needles as in the case of intravenous drug abusers and

(d) from the infected mother to her child through the placenta.

Hence, the correct answer is option 4) All of these

Q2. The abbreviation AIDS stands for

Option 1: Acquired immune disease syndrome

Option 2: Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome

Option 3: Acquired immunity-determining syndrome

Option 4: Acquired immunity delay syndrome

Correct answer: 2) Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome

Explanation:

The abbreviation AIDS, which is short for Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome, refers to a medical condition that arises as a consequence of infection with HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus). This virus specifically targets and decimates CD4 cells, a critical component of the human immune system known as white blood cells. As the infection progresses over time, the individual's immune response becomes significantly impaired due to the depletion of these essential cells. This severe compromise in the body's defence mechanisms renders the patient highly susceptible to various opportunistic infections and particular types of cancers that typically do not affect individuals with a robust immune system.

Hence, the correct answer is option 2) Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome

Q3. AIDS is caused by HIV. Among the following, which one is not a mode of transmission of HIV?

Option 1: Transfusion of contaminated blood.

Option 2: Sharing the infected needles.

Option 3: Shaking hands with an infected person.

Option 4: Sexual contact with infected persons.

Correct answer: (3) Shaking hands with infected persons.

Explanation:

The human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV, cannot be spread by handshaking, embracing, or sharing cutlery.

It is transmitted through:

• Unprotected intercourse with an infected individual.

• Distributing syringes or needles.

• Transfusion of blood that is contaminated.

• From an infected mother to her child while she is pregnant, giving birth, or nursing.

Hence, the correct answer is option (3) Shaking hands with infected persons.

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