Download The Human Reproductive System

HIV/AIDS
HIV/AIDS
• HIV (human
immunodeficiency
virus) – a virus that
attacks the immune
system.
• AIDS (acquired immune
deficiency syndrome) –
a disease in which the
immune system of the
patient is weakened. It
is the end stage of HIV
infection.
HIV/AIDS
• This is what most
people envision when
they think about
HIV/AIDS.
• This person has AIDS,
the end stage of HIV
infection.
HIV/AIDS
• You can not tell that
someone has HIV by
looking them. They look
normal and may not
even know that they are
infected.
HIV/AIDS FACTS
• AIDS has become one of
the deadliest diseases in
human history.
• More than 25 million
people around the world
have died from this
disease, including more
than 500,000 Americans.
• Health care officials
estimate that currently 40
million people worldwide
have HIV/AIDS.
HIV/AIDS FACTS
• Approximately 12 million
of the people who have
HIV/AIDS are in the 15-24
age group.
• Half of all new HIV
infections are among
young people. Every day,
about 7,000 young people
become infected.
• The fastest growing
population is among
African American women
aged 15-19.
• The seriousness of the
HIV/AIDS pandemic is
greatly increased because
many of the young people
who are infected do not
know it.
HIV and the Human Body
• When HIV enters the
blood, it invades certain
white blood cells of the
immune system,
including T cells, which
help other lymphocytes
identify and destroy
pathogens (germs).
HIV and the Human Body
• The viruses take over
the cells and cause
them to produce new
copies of themselves.
• The newly produced
viruses break out of the
cell, destroying them.
• The new viruses infect
other cells, and then
the process repeats
itself.
HIV and the Human Body
• As the number of viruses
increases and the number
of T cells decreases, the
immune system becomes
less capable of preventing
infections and cancer.
• The body becomes
susceptible to common
infections and to
opportunistic infections
(infections that occur in
individuals who do not
have a healthy immune
system).
• HIV infection is
progressive (occurring
over months or years).
• Being infected with HIV
does not necessarily
mean the individual has
AIDS. AIDS is the
advanced stage of HIV
infection.
HIV Transmission
• HIV is a fragile virus and
cannot live outside the
human body. Exposure to
air at room temperature
kills the virus.
HIV Transmission
• HIV cannot be spread
through airborne
transmission, through
casual contact (shaking
hands, hugging,), or from
insect bites.
• Although the virus has been
found in sweat, tears, and
saliva of infected persons,
the amount is too small to
be considered dangerous.
• Even kissing is a low risk
activity if you have no open
sore or cuts in your mouth.
• It cannot be transmitted
through food, sharing toilet
seats or telephones,
working next to or being in
the same room as an
infected person, or touching
an infected person.
HIV Transmission
• HIV is transmitted
among humans only
when one person’s
infected blood, semen,
or vaginal secretions
comes in contact with
another person’s
broken skin or mucous
membranes.
• Mucous membranes
can be found in the
mouth, eyes, nose,
vagina, rectum, and the
opening in the penis
HIV Transmission
HIV can be spread by:
1. Any form of sexual
contact.
2. Injecting drugs and
sharing needles.
3. Mother to baby –
either directly through
the umbilical cord,
during delivery, or
while nursing.
Stages of HIV Infection
• A person is considered
infectious immediately
after contracting the
virus.
• Approximately half of all
persons develop
symptoms about 3-6
weeks after becoming
infected with HIV.
• Symptoms include fever,
rash, headache, body
aches, and swollen glands
• In general, these
symptoms disappear
within a week to a month
and are often mistaken
for another viral infection,
such as the flu.
Stages of HIV Infection
• After the flu-like
symptoms disappear,
the person enters the
asymptomatic stage, a
period of time during
which a person infected
with HIV has no
symptoms.
• A person may show no
signs of illness for 6
months to 10 years or
more.
• However, the virus
continues to grow and
the infected person can
still transmit the virus
to others.
Stages of HIV Infection
• During the asymptomatic
stage, the immune system
keeps pace with HIV
infection by producing
billions of new cells.
• Eventually though, the
number of cells in the
immune system decline
to the point where other
infections start to take
over
• This marks the
symptomatic stage, the
stage in which an infected
person has symptoms as a
result of a severe drop in
immune cells.
• The symptoms include
swollen glands, weight
loss, and yeast infections.
Stages of HIV Infection
• During the latter stage of
HIV infection, more
serious symptoms appear
until the infection meets
the official definition of
AIDS.
• This includes the
presence of HIV infection,
a severely damaged
immune system
measured by the number
of helper T cells, and the
appearance of one or
more opportunistic
infections or illnesses.
• By the time AIDS
develops, HIV has often
attacked brain cells,
causing difficulty in
thinking or remembering.
AIDS Opportunistic Illnesses
• AIDS –OIs are disorders
caused by organisms
that do not usually
produce illness in
healthy people with
unimpaired immune
systems.
AIDS Opportunistic Illnesses
Karposis Sarcoma
• Usually the first AIDS-OI
to infect AIDS patients
• It is a type of skin
cancer that presents
with red lesions
covering the body.
AIDS Opportunistic Illnesses
Mycobacterium Avium
Complex (MAC)
• MAC is a bacterial
infection.
• Symptoms include
persistent fever, night
sweats, fatigue, weight
loss, chronic diarrhea,
anemia, abdominal
pain, weakness,
dizziness, and nausea.
AIDS Opportunistic Illnesses
Cryptococcosis
(Cryptococcal Disease)
• A fungal infection that
may cause meningitis or
a form of pneumonia.
• Symptoms of meningitis
include headache, stiff
neck, fever, blurred
vision, a staggering gait,
and fatigue
• If left untreated, the
infection may end in
coma or death.
AIDS Opportunistic Illnesses
Pneumocystis Carinii
Pneumonia (PCP)
• A protozoal infection
that causes a form of
pneumonia.
• Symptoms include
difficulty in breathing,
fever, and a persistent
cough.
AIDS Opportunistic Illnesses
Toxoplasmosis Gondii
• A protozoal infection that
can cause encephalitis.
• It is characterized by an
altered mental state –
confusion, lethargy, and
delusional behavior – as
well as paralysis on one
side of the body, seizures,
severe headaches, fever,
and coma.
AIDS Opportunistic Illnesses
Cytomegalovirus (CMV)
• A viral infection with
symptoms that include
blurry vision, blindness,
pain and difficulty
swallowing, lesions in
the esophagus, fever,
diarrhea, abdominal
pain, wasting (an
infection of the cells
lining the intestines),
and eventual blindness.
AIDS Opportunistic Illnesses
AIDS-Related Cognitive
Motor Dysfunction
• Formerly known as AIDS
Dementia Complex.
• A progressive disorder
in which brain tissue is
destroyed.
• Symptoms range from
mild confusion to
instability to control
one’s muscular
movement
AIDS Opportunistic Illnesses
Peripheral Nerve / Spinal
Cord Dysfunction
• An inflammation of the
nerves connecting the
central nervous system
to the sensory organs,
muscles, glands, and
internal organs.
• Symptoms include
numbness, tingling,
pain, and muscle
weakness.
Detecting HIV
• The first test usually
performed is an ELISA
(EIA), a test that screens
for the presence of HIV
antibodies in the blood.
• The EIA reacts to even
small numbers of HIV
antibodies.
• However, the EIA may
give inaccurate results
because:
1. Developing antibodies
takes time. Before
antibodies develop, the
EIA may give a false
negative result. This
means the test is negative,
but the person may be
positive; there just aren’t
enough antibodies for the
test to detect.
• Most people will test
positive in 3-4 weeks, but
some people take up to 6
months to test positive.
Detecting HIV
2. Certain health
conditions such as
hemophilia, hepatitis,
and pregnancy can
cause the EIA to give a
false positive reading.
• This means that
although the test was
positive, the person
does not have the
infection.
• If the EIA test is positive,
it can be repeated to
make sure the results are
accurate.
• If the repeat test is also
positive, other
confirmatory test are
done.
Detecting HIV
•
•
•
The Western Blot test is
the most common
confirmation test for
HIV.
If done properly, this
test is 100% accurate.
If the results of all three
of these tests are
positive, a person is
determined to have HIV,
and is referred to as HIVpositive or HIV-Reactive
Detecting HIV
•
•
•
Two additional test – the
RNA and CD4 – may be
run when a Western Blot
test comes back
positive.
The RNA, or viral load
test, shows how many
copies of the virus are
circulating in the blood
The CD4 test looks at the
number of white blood
cells in a sample of
blood.
• These two test give a
more complete picture of
an HIV-infected person’s
condition.
• They can help doctors
monitor the disease and
determine how much
medicine, if any, a patient
needs.
Detecting HIV
•
Home testing kits are
available, but are not
always considered to
be trustworthy.
HIV/AIDS Treatment
• Since the early 1980s,
drugs have been
developed to slow the
growth of HIV and treat
some of the symptoms.
• No drug yet exists to cure
HIV/AIDS
• Many of the drugs
available are also used to
treats opportunistic
infections.
HIV/AIDS Treatment
• To slow the growth of HIV,
people take a
combination of drugs, a
treatment known as
highly active antiretroviral
therapy (HAART).
• People may have take
more than 30 pills a day.
• In 2006, the FDA
approved a once-daily,
single pill for HIV, but is
not effective for every
patient.