HIV
Jennifer Raymond
Kaplan University
HIV
The human immunodeficiency virus is commonly referred to as HIV. HIV is a virus that causes damage or kills the body’s immune system cells (HIV/AIDS, 2016). While it is attacking the immune system, HIV destroys CD4 positive T cells, which is a type of white blood cell that is extremely vital to fighting off infection (Understanding HIV/AIDS). The most advanced stage, or more commonly referred to as the “final stage” of HIV, is AIDS; which stands for acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. For AIDS to occur HIV has to be left untreated. When we think of HIV we think of unprotected sex, unsanitary drug use and from mother to child during pregnancy. According to the NIH site the first signs of HIV infection may be “swollen glands and flu-like symptoms. These may come and go a month or two after infection. Severe symptoms may not appear until months or years later” (HIV/AIDS, 2016). Most of the flu-like symptoms include the following: …show more content…
The best example found was on the niaid.nih.gov site stating that “NIAID-funded investigators have identified the critical steps of how HIV uses the host machinery to enter and exit the cell, as well as the existence of multiple, persistent HIV reservoirs despite treatment with high active antiretroviral therapy (HAART)” ("HIV/AIDS Epidemiology Research", 2016). HIV is an epidemic. According to the CDC Fact Sheet for New HIV Infections in the United States around 50,000 infections happen per year since the mid-1990s. 36.9 million people worldwide are currently living with HIV/AIDS. The majority of those people live in low-to-middle-income countries mostly in the Sub-Saharan Africa. Sadly, 2.6 million children are living with HIV from infection during childbirth or breast feeding (Aids.gov, 2016). Extreme focus has gone into preventing HIV and has driven down the rates of
Jennifer Raymond
Kaplan University
HIV
The human immunodeficiency virus is commonly referred to as HIV. HIV is a virus that causes damage or kills the body’s immune system cells (HIV/AIDS, 2016). While it is attacking the immune system, HIV destroys CD4 positive T cells, which is a type of white blood cell that is extremely vital to fighting off infection (Understanding HIV/AIDS). The most advanced stage, or more commonly referred to as the “final stage” of HIV, is AIDS; which stands for acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. For AIDS to occur HIV has to be left untreated. When we think of HIV we think of unprotected sex, unsanitary drug use and from mother to child during pregnancy. According to the NIH site the first signs of HIV infection may be “swollen glands and flu-like symptoms. These may come and go a month or two after infection. Severe symptoms may not appear until months or years later” (HIV/AIDS, 2016). Most of the flu-like symptoms include the following: …show more content…
The best example found was on the niaid.nih.gov site stating that “NIAID-funded investigators have identified the critical steps of how HIV uses the host machinery to enter and exit the cell, as well as the existence of multiple, persistent HIV reservoirs despite treatment with high active antiretroviral therapy (HAART)” ("HIV/AIDS Epidemiology Research", 2016). HIV is an epidemic. According to the CDC Fact Sheet for New HIV Infections in the United States around 50,000 infections happen per year since the mid-1990s. 36.9 million people worldwide are currently living with HIV/AIDS. The majority of those people live in low-to-middle-income countries mostly in the Sub-Saharan Africa. Sadly, 2.6 million children are living with HIV from infection during childbirth or breast feeding (Aids.gov, 2016). Extreme focus has gone into preventing HIV and has driven down the rates of