BASIC HIV and AIDS INFORMATION
Source:
http://www.aidsmap.com/hiv-basics
Source:
WHO
What is HIV?
HIV stands for human immunodeficiency virus.
This particular virus was discovered in the mid 1980s and belongs to a group of viruses called ‘retroviruses’.
HIV attacks the immune system, and gradually causes damage. This can mean that a person infected with HIV is at risk of developing some serious infections and cancers that a healthy immune system can fight off. When a person develops certain illnesses and cancers, they are said to have developed AIDS.
A test can tell if you have HIV. If you do, this is described as being HIV-positive.
There is no cure for HIV. However, there are more than 20 anti-HIV drugs, and treatment with a combination of these drugs can mean a longer and healthy life.
HIV is present in blood, genital fluids and breast milk.
The main ways HIV can be passed on to someone else are during unprotected sex, by sharing injecting equipment, and from a mother to her baby during pregnancy, birth or through breastfeeding. But there are ways of preventing HIV infection in all of these situations.
What is AIDS?
AIDS stands for acquired immune deficiency syndrome. AIDS is the name used to describe a combination of potentially life-threatening infections and cancers, which can develop when someone’s immune system has been damaged by HIV.
You cannot catch AIDS and there is no AIDS test. HIV causes AIDS and it is HIV that can be passed on.
Being diagnosed with AIDS means different things for different people. Just because someone has AIDS does not mean they will die – but it is important to have medical care and treatment.
What is the link between HIV and AIDS?
AIDS is the name used to describe a combination of potentially life-threatening infections and cancers that can develop in people who have HIV.
Over time, infection with HIV damages the immune system, This means that the body cannot fight off a number of serious infections and cancers, which are sometimes called ‘AIDS-defining’.
Just because you are diagnosed with an AIDS-defining illness doesn’t mean that you are going to die. Many of these illnesses can be cured or managed.
Treatment with combinations of anti-HV drugs can keep the immune system strong, and because of this the number of people who are diagnosed with AIDS has fallen. Thanks to effective HIV treatment, many people who developed AIDS are now very well and can look forward to a long and healthy life.
What are the symptoms of HIV?
This varies from person to person. The only way to be sure if you have been infected with HIV is to have an HIV test. You cannot tell from symptoms alone.
If you have HIV, it’s very important that it’s diagnosed for the best chance of getting treatment and care, and of staying well
Many people have an illness, often called a ‘seroconversion’ illness, soon after they are infected with HIV. Typical symptoms include a fever, sore throat, headache, aches and pains, and a blotchy red rash.
In some people this illness is so mild that it passes without being noticed. Some people mistake it for the flu, but for some people it is more severe and they may need to see a doctor. However, because the symptoms are similar to symptoms of many other conditions, HIV might not be diagnosed at the time.
If you’ve had unprotected sex and notice these symptoms about two weeks later, you might want to consider having an HIV test.
After this initial illness, it’s not uncommon for people to live with HIV and not to have any symptoms at all. But the virus will still be causing damage to the immune system, and without treatment most people with HIV will eventually become ill because of it.
HIV-related illnesses can cause a wide range of symptoms. These can include fevers and night sweats, a high temperature, a cough that won’t go away, unexplained weight loss, severe diarrhoea, bad headaches, or persistent mouth and skin problems. Of course, these can all have other causes.
How do I know if I have HIV?
An HIV test can tell if you have become infected with HIV. HIV tests are extremely accurate.
Modern tests can tell if you’ve been infected with HIV very soon after exposure to the virus – normally within two or three weeks.
If you have HIV, it’s very important that it’s diagnosed. This will give you the best chance of getting the treatment and care you need to stay well.
How many people have HIV in the world?
The United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and the World Health Organization (WHO) released their annual figures for World AIDS Day in 2009. They said that at the end of 2008 there were 33.4 million people living with HIV. In 2008 there were 2.7 million new infections and 2 million HIV-related deaths.
Their report also showed that, at the end of 2008, 4 million people were receiving antiretroviral drugs.
How many people have HIV in my country?
http://www.aidsmap.com/e-atlas
What is the life expectancy of someone with HIV?
With modern HIV treatment, many people with HIV are living long and healthy lives. In fact, some doctors are hopeful that many people with HIV will live a near-normal life expectancy.
A lot of effort is going into making effective HIV treatment available to everyone who needs it. However, this is not always possible in some parts of the world. Without treatment, people with HIV will almost always eventually become ill, and their lives may be shortened.
Your best chance of staying well is to start treatment at the right time. To do this you need to know you have HIV. Many of the people who die from HIV-related illnesses in countries where treatment is easily available were diagnosed very late, often not until they were already very ill.
How can I support someone I know who has HIV?
This will depend both on your own and the other person’s circumstances, needs, and character.
But making it clear that you’re there to offer support, not judging, and listening, are often good places to start.
Learning about HIV, its effects and treatment may help you to understand the experiences of your loved one, and to be able to discuss their experience or options.
Finding out about other sources of support – both for the person with HIV and yourself – is also likely to be a good idea. There are many organisations that provide information, advice and support across the world.
Where did HIV come from?
HIV is very similar to a virus called SIV (simian immunodeficiency virus), which is found in monkeys.
There’s now good evidence that it jumped species from chimpanzees to man in the early 20th century.
How has HIV affected the world?
Untreated HIV eventually leads to AIDS. The first cluster of AIDS cases were reported in New York and San Francisco in 1981. Doctors noticed that gay men were becoming ill with a rare form of pneumonia (PCP) and a cancer called Kaposi’s sarcoma.
Researchers worked out that these men had an underlying infection, and that it was likely to be sexually transmitted and blood-borne.
Further cases of AIDS were soon reported in gay men in other countries, including the UK. But it quickly became apparent that AIDS was affecting other groups as well.
In 1985, the virus that is now known as HIV was identified.
Even before HIV was discovered, safer sex and safer drug use had become established ways of reducing the risk of the illness.
As the virus spread around the world and deaths mounted, research went into finding a cure or vaccine. The first drug found to have an effect against HIV was AZT.
Other drugs were developed, but it became clear that treatment with one drug alone did not work well in the long term.
Treatment with two anti-HIV drugs was shown to have more benefit, but the real breakthrough came with development of new anti-HIV drugs that worked against the virus in a number of different ways.
In 1996, triple-drug HIV treatment was introduced. This treatment was able to reduce the amount of virus in the blood and allow the immune system to strengthen. Thanks to this treatment, the number of AIDS deaths fell dramatically in countries where treatment was widely available.
However, HIV was spreading rapidly in some of the world’s poorest countries, especially in southern Africa, and wider access to HIV treatment in these countries is only now starting to become a reality.
The early HIV treatment combinations were difficult to take and many caused unpleasant and long-term side-effects.
More powerful, easier-to-take and safer drugs gradually became available. Thanks to these, and other improvements in HIV care, doctors have become increasingly hopeful that many people with HIV will be able to live a near-normal lifespan.
Nevertheless, HIV continues to spread. The infection is spreading rapidly in Eastern Europe, China, India and south-east Asia.
HIV is now firmly established as one of the leading health concerns of the 21st century, and one of the most significant causes of illness and death in human history.
