HIV and AIDS By Lindsey Wilderotter

What is HIV/AIDS? HIV is a virus and therefore the pathogen that attacks the immune system and also known as a retrovirus HIV stands for Human immunodeficiency virus and can lead to AIDS or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome AIDS is a condition in humans in which the immune system begins to fail, leading to life-threatening infections

This is what the virus HIV looks like

Mode of Transmission HIV is spread primarily by sexual contact that involves the exchange of bodily fluids According to the CDC, 80 percent of all HIV/AIDS cases diagnosed in the United States in 2004 were the result of sexual contact. The virus can be transmitted from a man to a woman, from a woman to a man, from a man to a man, or from a woman to a woman. However, males account of 73 percent of American adults and adolescents living with HIV/AIDS

Who is at risk? Anyone of any age, race, sex or sexual orientation can be infected with HIV It all depends on your actions and how safe you are

Adults and Children throughout the world living with HIV

When to check for HIV/AIDS The CDC recommends that you should be tested at least one a year if you do the following things The CDC also estimates that 250,000 people living with HIV in the United States do not know that they are infected. - Inject drugs or steroids, have sex for money, have sex with an HIV infected person, or have sex with more than one partner

Signs and Symptoms When someone is first infected with HIV, he/she may have no signs or symptoms at all It is more common to develop a brief flu- like illness two to four weeks after becoming infected These may include fever, headache, sore throat, swollen lymph glands, or rash

Prevention AIDS in not a disease that gets better or can go away There is no cure of AIDS but the only defense against AIDS is prevention This includes having safe sex and not recycling needles or drugs The only way to avoid getting or transmitting AIDS is abstinence

Treatments Anti-retroviral drugs inhibit the growth and replication of HIV at various stages of its life cycle. There are seven classes of these drugs available Some of those include NRTIs, Fusion inhibitors and Integrase inhibitors

Medical Costs In the November 2006 issue of Medical Care, they projected the average lifetime cost of HIV treatment is $618,900 Doctor Schackman estimated the monthly medical cost for people with HIV to be an average of $2,100

Long Term Effects Over time, HIV positive people may experience symptoms from the infection and side effects from their anti-HIV drugs One main effect is that some people experience a change in the way their bodies handle fats and sugars They may gain or lose a lot of fat in unusual areas and may develop diabetes

Life- Expectancy After becoming infected with HIV, people could expect to get AIDS within about 10 years and then live only one or two more However, now we have good treatments for HIV and better tests to monitor the virus As the years go by, HIV treatments may lose their effectiveness or have worse effects

This graph shows the life expectancy and how it has decreased over the years in certain countries

Understanding this Information Now that we know how HIV/AIDS is transmitted, we can take steps to make sure we protect ourselves The only way to know if you have AIDS is to get tested, so if you have had unprotected sex or shared a needle, you should get tested You can never be too safe when it comes to protecting your life