Hiv Symptoms

Features Hiv Symptoms

Use this app to learn about the symptoms of HIV and more about the virusWhat is HIV?HIV is a virus that damages the immune system.
The immune system helps the body fight off infections.
Untreated HIV infects and kills CD4 cells, which are a type of immune cell called T cells.
Over time, as HIV kills more CD4 cells, the body is more likely to get various types of infections and cancers.
HIV is transmitted through bodily fluids that include: blood semen vaginal and rectal fluids breast milkThe virus doesn’t spread in air or water, or through casual contact.Stages of HIV stage 1: acute stage, the first few weeks after transmission stage 2: clinical latency, or chronic stage stage 3: AIDSHIV is a lifelong condition and currently there is no cure, although many scientists are working to find one.
However, with medical care, including treatment called antiretroviral therapy, it’s possible to manage HIV and live with the virus for many years.Without treatment, a person with HIV is likely to develop a serious condition called AIDS.
At that point, the immune system is too weak to fight off other diseases and infections.
Untreated, life expectancy with AIDS is about three years Trusted Source.
With antiretroviral therapy, HIV can be well-controlled and life expectancy can be nearly the same as someone who has not contracted HIV.It’s estimated that 1.1 million Americans are currently living with HIV.
Of those people, 1 in 5 don’t know they have the virus.Below are the top 20 countries with people living with HivSwazilandLesothoBotswanaSouth AfricaNamibiaZimbabweZambiaMozambiqueMalawiUgandaEquatorial GuineaKenyaTanzaniaCentral African RepublicCameroonGabonBahamas, The Congo, Republic of the Guinea-BissauRwandaHIV can cause changes throughout the body.
Learn about the effects of HIV on the different systems in the body.
What is AIDS?AIDS is a disease that can develop in people with HIV.
It’s the most advanced stage of HIV.
But just because a person has HIV doesn’t mean they’ll develop AIDS.HIV kills CD4 cells.
Healthy adults generally have a CD4 count of 500 to 1,500 per cubic millimeter.
A person with HIV whose CD4 count falls below 200 per cubic millimeter will be diagnosed with AIDS.A person can also be diagnosed with AIDS if they have HIV and develop an opportunistic infection or cancer that’s rare in people who don’t have HIV.
An opportunistic infection, such as pneumonia, is one that takes advantage of a unique situation, such as HIV.Untreated, HIV can progress to AIDS within a decade.
There’s no cure for AIDS, and without treatment, life expectancy after diagnosis is about three years Trusted Source.
This may be shorter if the person develops a severe opportunistic illness.
However, treatment with antiretroviral drugs can prevent AIDS from developing.If AIDS does develop, it means that the immune system is severely compromised.
It’s weakened to the point where it can no longer fight off most diseases and infections.
That makes the person vulnerable to a wide range of illnesses, including: pneumonia tuberculosis oral thrush, a fungal infection in the mouth or throat cytomegalovirus (CMV), a type of herpes virus cryptococcal meningitis, a fungal infection in the brain toxoplasmosis, a brain infection caused by a parasite cryptosporidiosis, an infection caused by an intestinal parasite cancer, including Kaposi’s sarcoma (KS) and lymphomaThe shortened life expectancy linked with untreated AIDS isn’t a direct result of the syndrome itself.
Rather, it’s a result of the diseases and complications that arise from having an immune system weakened by AIDS.
Learn more about possible complications that can arise from HIV and AIDS.For more information you can write us via [email protected]