HIV stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus. This virus attacks specific cells in the body called CD4 helper cells. CD4 cells are white blood cells that work in the immune system to protect the body from illnesses. When HIV gets in the body, it attacks and destroys these cells. When the number of CD4 cells in your body depletes at a fast rate, your immune system becomes weaker and it becomes harder to fight off infections. While the virus attacks, it inserts itself into the cell and, like other viruses, uses the cell’s machinery to make replications of itself. There are 3 stages of HIV, each increasing in severity. [B1]
In order to be considered healthy, a person must have a CD4 cell count of about 500-1600 cells per cubic millimeter of blood (cells/mm3). HIV can turn into AIDS (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome) when the CD4 cell count drops to below 200 cells/mm3. AIDS is a condition of HIV that some people can reach and is known as the last and most severe stage. AIDS is categorized as the condition in which a person’s immune system is so weak and damaged that any illness, even a simple cold, could turn deadly without any medical attention. [B2]
THE PHASES OF HIV
STAGE
1
THE
ACUTE PRIMARY INFECTION
A person is in this phase for the first 1 to 4 weeks after acquiring the virus. In this stage, a person may have cold like symptoms as a result of their immune system working to produce HIV antibodies. This process is called seroconversion. Because the symptoms are so mild and the virus has not killed many CD4 cells in this stage, many people don’t know that they have HIV and tests are not very accurate. [B3]
STAGE
2
THE ASYMPTOMATIC STAGE
The virus continues to attack CD4 cells and replicate itself after the body went through seroconversion. Some people can be in this stage for 10 to 15 years and not have any symptoms more severe than those in Stage 1. [B3]
STAGE
3
THE SYMPTOMATIC HIV INFECTION
The immune system becomes so damaged that a person is likely to get opportunistic infections. Opportunistic infections are ones that the body would usually be able to easily fight off. Common ones that those with HIV are more susceptible to include:
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Pneumonia
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Tuberculosis
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Salmonella [B4]
Once a person has a number of opportunistic infections, they are considered to now have AIDS. [B3]
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FINAL
CONDITION
AIDS
Once a person has a number of opportunistic infections, they are considered to now have AIDS. [B3] https://aidsinfo.nih.gov/understanding-hiv-aids/fact-sheets/19/46/the-stages-of-hiv-infection
HIV AND AIDS: THE TRANSMISSION
There are different ways that HIV could spread from person-to-person. Some of the most common ways are through:
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Certain bodily fluids
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For example semen and blood
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Mother-to-child through either birth or breastmilk
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Sharing needles and syringes
Once the virus enters a new body it goes through the process of attacking the CD4 cells and replicating itself. If an HIV-positive person takes their medicine as prescribed, their viral load (virus particles per millimeter of blood) can go down. When their viral load is low, the chance of HIV transmission is lowered. [B6]
THE ORIGIN
OF
HIV AND AIDS
Scientists have concluded that the first transmission of HIV happened in the Democratic Republic of Congo around 1920. It has been found that some chimpanzees have a strain of SIV (Simian Immunodeficiency Virus) that is nearly identical to HIV. They worked backward to find that the SIV could have gotten into humans and developed into HIV through:
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Chimpanzee blood getting in their bodies
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People hunting and eating the chimpanzees
Once HIV found itself in people of the Democratic Republic of Congo, it began to spread around the world through the different ways of transmission. [B5]