Aids , mode of infection , symptoms of Aids ,symptoms in females , aids as opportunistic infection , diagnosis preventition and treatment of Aids.

 AIDS

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome is referred to as AIDS. The Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), which destroys or injures immune system cells in the body, is at its most advanced form at this point in the infection process. HIV most frequently transmits through unprotected sex with an infected person, sharing needles used for drugs, or coming into contact with an infected person's blood. During pregnancy or childbirth, women might provide it to their unborn children.

Swollen glands and flu-like symptoms that may come and go a month or two after infection may be the initial signs of HIV infection. It's possible for severe symptoms to take months or years to manifest. How far along the HIV disease is can be determined by the CD4 count. Between 500 to 1,500 cells per cubic millimeter of blood are considered to be CD4 counts in adults. Whether a person has HIV or not, the CD4 count typically decreases as the disease worsens, falling to below 200.

Mode Of Infection  

Once within the body, HIV binds to a type of white blood cell (WBC) called a CD4 cell, also known as a T4 cell, which is the body's principal disease-fighting unit. When there is an infection, CD4 cells command the body's army of infection-fighters to keep it from getting sick. Therefore, damage to these cells can have an impact on a person's capacity to combat disease and overall health. The virus introduces its RNA into the cell once it has gained control of the CD4 cell. The reverse transcriptase enzyme is subsequently used by the RNA to create its DNA. The viral DNA is subsequently joined to the DNA of the host cell and integrated into the genetic makeup of the cell.

It's like the cell has been taken over. The virus now multiplies and creates hundreds of thousands of its own copies using the cell's division process. After entering the bloodstream, these cells bind to other CD4 cells and carry on their replication. As a result, the blood virus count increases while the CD4 cell count decreases.

HIV can spread from one person to another in a number of common methods, including:

• Having unsafe intercourse with a sick person
• using syringes or needles that have been previously used by an infected person receiving transplanted organs or blood products that are contaminated.
• Woman-to-child transmission - During pregnancy, delivery, or through sexual contact, an infected mother may spread the virus to her developing foetus.

Symptoms

After the virus's first entry or two years in the case of children born with the virus, more severe symptoms may not appear for several years, possibly even a decade or more. While some people may not have any symptoms for more than ten years, others may start to experience symptoms as soon as a few months later. The virus will be aggressively growing, infecting, and killing immune system cells during the "asymptomatic" phase. The afflicted person may have the following symptoms:

• lacking in energy
• Loss of weight.
• frequent sweats and fever.
• A yeast infection-related thick, whitish coating on the tongue or mouth, which is occasionally accompanied by a painful throat.
• significant or persistent vaginal yeast infections.
• infections like Herpes zoster that are severe and recurrent, or chronic pelvic inflammatory disease.
• severe and unexplained periods of exhaustion, sometimes accompanied with headaches, lightheadedness, or dizziness.
• rapid weight loss that is not the result of increased exercise or dieting.
• more readily bruises than usual.
• recurring episodes of diarrhea. 
• glands in the armpit, groyne, or throat swelling or hardness.
• Periods of protracted, dry coughing.
• breathing becoming more difficult.
• the presence of growths on the skin or inside the mouth that are pigmented or purple.

• Unexpected bleeding from the skin, mucous membranes, or any body hole.

• uncommon and recurrent skin rashes.
• severe discomfort or numbness in the hands or feet, loss of reflex and muscle function, paralysis, or weakness of the muscles.
• a change in personality, a shift in consciousness, or a decline in mental health.
• Children may grow slowly or experience frequent illnesses. Cancer has been discovered to be more susceptible in HIV-positive people.

Symptoms in Female

Although the majority of HIV infection symptoms are comparable in men and women, some are more common in women. For instance, compared to healthy women, women with HIV infection may experience chronic vaginal yeast infections that are more severe and difficult to treat.

Additionally, women with HIV infection may experience more severe and frequent cases of pelvic inflammatory disease, an infection of the female reproductive systems. Infection with the genital wart-causing human papillomavirus (HPV), which can result in precancerous cervix lesions or cervix cancer, may be more common in women with HIV.

Opportunistic Infection

When someone has AIDS, their CD4 cell count, which normally ranges from 500 to 1,500 per millilitre of blood in a healthy person, drops to under 200. At this point, the viral load will be very high. Bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites all cause opportunistic infections. Mycobacterium avium, tuberculosis, salmonellosis, bacillary angiomatosis, cytomegalovirus, viral hepatitis, herpes, human papillomavirus, progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy, candidiasis, cryptococcal meningitis, pneumonia caused by pneumocystis carinii, toxoplasmosis, and cryptosporidiosis People who have HIV are also more likely to develop cancers including Kaposi's sarcoma and lymphoma.

Diagnosis

HIV infection cannot be detected without a blood test in the early stages since it frequently causes no symptoms. There are two tests available to determine whether a person has HIV infection; one checks for the presence of antibodies the body has created in reaction to HIV, and the other examines for the virus itself. The test returns a positive result if antibodies are found.

A second test known as a Western Blot or Immunoflouroscent Assay is required to confirm a positive test result (IFA). Since not all ELISA positive results must be precise, Western blot and other tests are required to confirm a person's HIV status. Specialized equipment is needed for ELISA, and blood samples must be sent to a lab. Rapid Tests, which provide findings in 5 to 30 minutes, are being utilised more frequently all over the world to reduce this waiting time.

About three months after infection, the blood's HIV antibodies often become detectable. The Window Period includes the time from the onset of the illness until the blood is found to contain antibodies. Sometimes it can take the antibodies up to six months to manifest. The amount of virus in an infected person may be extremely high, even if the tests come back negative within the window period.

Prevention

The only method to protect oneself from HIV is by practising preventive measures because there is neither an efficient vaccine nor a treatment for it.

Either people shouldn't engage in sexual activity, or they should wear latex condoms. Condoms made of polyurethane can be used by people who are allergic to latex.

Although some laboratory data suggests that spermicidal creams can kill HIV, there is little proof to say whether they can stop transmission.

If a pregnant woman uses AZT during her pregnancy, labour, and delivery, and if her unborn child uses it for the first six weeks of life, the risk of HIV transmission from the mother to her unborn child is considerably decreased. Nevirapine is also useful, it turns out.

A person's likelihood of contracting HIV through sexual interaction can rise if they already have a sexually transmitted illness (STD). Therefore, it's important to start treating STDs right away.

All given blood must undergo an HIV, Hepatitis B, and Syphilis screening.

Treatment

There are three different medication classes that can be used to treat AIDS.

1. Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors: Nucleoside Analogues (NRTIs). These were the first antiretroviral medications created to prevent HIV replication in its early stages by blocking the activity of the enzyme reverse transcriptase. These medications include Stavudine (Zerit, d4T), Zidovudine (Retrovir, AZT), Lamivudine (Epivir, 3TC), Didanosine (Videx, ddI), Zalcitabine (Hivid, ddC), and Abacavir (Ziagen).

Zidovudine's main side effect is bone marrow suppression, which lowers the production of red and white blood cells. Peripheral nerves can become damaged by the medications ddI, ddC, and d4T, causing tingling and burning in the hands and feet. Pancreatitis can also result from treatment with ddI, while mouth ulcers can result from ddC. Abacavir causes hypersensitivity with rash, fever, tiredness, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, and stomach pain in about 5% of patients who take it. Symptoms typically start to occur within the first six weeks of treatment and go away after the medication is stopped.

2. Inhibitors of Non-Nucleoside Reverse Transcriptase (NNRTIs). The Reverse Transcriptase enzyme is directly bound by these medications. Currently, three NNRTIs—Nevirapine (Viramune), Delavirdine (Rescriptor), and Efavirenz—are licenced for clinical usage (Sustiva). Rash development is a significant side effect of all NNRTIS. Additionally, Efavirenz users may experience adverse effects include strange nightmares, insomnia, dizziness, and problems concentrating.

3. Anti-Protease Agents (PIs). They interfere with an enzyme known as HIV protease to stop HIV replication later in its life cycle. As a result, HIV particles in the body acquire a chaotic structural makeup and stop being contagious. Saquinavir (Fortovase), Ritonavir (Norvir), Indinavir (Crixivan), Nelfinavir (Viracept), Amprenavir (Agenerase), and Lopinavir are a few of the medications in this class (Kaletra).

The highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), commonly known as the triple cocktail medication, is the closest thing that medical science has to an effective drug that can stop HIV at various phases of replication. Reverse transcriptase inhibitors, which are often one of two medications in the HAART regimen, suppress an enzyme that is essential for HIV replication in its first stages. Another enzyme that is active toward the end of the HIV replication process is inhibited by protease inhibitors.

There is currently no vaccination to protect against HIV infection.

Share this post