1. Lesson 3
HIV/AIDS

2. What is HIV/AIDS? Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)
A virus that attacks the immune system
Finds and destroys white blood cells that fight disease
Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS)
Final stage of an HIV infection
A disease in which the immune system is weakened
More than 500,000 American have died from AIDS

3. Understanding HIV/AIDS
Virus and cannot live outside the human body
Cannot be spread through airborne transmission, through casual contact such as shaking hands or hugging, or from insect bites
HIV is transmitted among humans only when one person’s infected blood, semen, or vaginal secretions comes in contact with another person’s broke skin or mucous membrane
Mucous Membranes are found in:
Mouth, eyes, nose, vagina, rectum, opening of the penis
HIV can be spread three ways:
During sexual intercourse
By sharing needles
From mother to baby

4. How HIV/AIDS Affects the Immune System
Attacks the body’s immune system by destroying lymphocytes
Specialized white blood cells that perform many immune functions
Two types: B cells, T cells
B cells
Produce antibodies
Antibody: a protein that acts against a specific agent
T cells
Helper T cells: trigger the productions of B cells and killer T cells
Killer T cells: attack and destroy infected body cells, don’t attack pathogens, only the infected cells
Suppressor T cells: coordinate the actions of other T cells, they “turn off” helper T cells when the infection has been cleared

5. AIDS opportunistic illness
When HIV enters certain cells, it reproduces itself and eventually destroys the cell
As more cells are destroyed the immune system becomes weaker and weaker
AIDS opportunistic illness
Infections the body could fight off if the immune system were healthy
HIV infection goes through identifiable stages before progressing to AIDS
Asymptomatic stage: take over the lymph nodes, no outward signs, can last for 10 years
Middle stage: occurs in about percent of patients; experience fever, headaches, sore throat, rash, diarrhea, and enlarged lymph nodes
Symptomatic stage: helper T cells fall to 200 to 400per milliliter of blood, have flu like symptoms as well as weight loss and skin rashes
AIDS stage: helper T cells fall below 200, more AIDS opportunistic illnesses are present

6. Preventing and Treating HIV/AIDS
Lesson 4
Preventing and Treating HIV/AIDS

7. Preventing HIV/AIDS Helpful behaviors include: Practice abstinence
Do not share needles
Avoid situations where drug and alcohol use might compromise your decision making
Use refusal skills when you feel pressures to engage in risky behaviors

8. Diagnosing HIV/AIDS Types of Laboratory HIV tests: EIA Test
A test that screens for the presence of HIV antibodies in the blood
Western Blot Test
A test that detects HIV antibodies and confirms the results of earlier EIA tests
RNA and CD4: may be run when the western blot test comes back positive
RNA: viral load test, shows how many copies of the virus are circulating in the blood
CD4: looks at the number of white blood cells in a sample of blood
Rapid Test
An HIV test that produces results in only 20 minutes

9. Early Detection and Treating HIV/AIDS
Early detection can have some benefits
Begin proper medical care to slow the progress
Avoid behaviors that could spread the virus
Gain peace of mind when the results are negative
Treating the virus
Medications can slow the growth of HIV/AIDS but there is no cure