Download The Effects of HIV/AIDS

The Effects of
HIV/AIDS on the
Immune System
Kylina, Kate, Sarah, Jackie
What is HIV?
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Human Immunodeficiency Virus
HIV is a virus that infects cells necessary to activate immune
responses, by attacking the body’s T-Cells and helper T-Cells
HIV-1 originated in West-Central Africa in the first half of the
20th century when a closely related chimpanzee virus first
infected humans
The global spread of HIV-1 has been documented to have
occurred in the 1970s, and AIDS was first recognized in 1981
HIV Virus
What is AIDS?
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Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome
AIDS is a condition where the body’s specific
defense system against all infectious agents no
longer functions properly
A person is diagnosed with AIDS after having
HIV for a while
How does HIV affect the body?
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HIV infects cells necessary to activate immune responses
Helper T-Cells
 Without helper T-Cells, body cannot make antibodies properly,
nor can infected cells containing HIV (intracellular pathogen)
be properly eliminated
The Virus can:
 Multiply
 Kill the helper T-Cells in which it lives
 Infect adjacent helper T-Cells
 Repeat the cycle, and on and on until eventually there is a
substantial loss of helper T-Cells
How does HIV affect the body?
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Virus and immune system continually fights for supremacy
Body makes more T-Cells, that mature into helper T-Cells
 Virus still attacks these new T-Cells as body continues to make
them
This process continues until the body can no longer create T-Cells
 This takes up to 10 years
Loss of helper T-Cells results in complete inability of the body to
ward off any organisms
This acquired condition of immunodeficiency is called AIDS
How does HIV cause AIDS?
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Infection
 The virus can copy itself and infect cells before your
immune system has time to react. Flu-like symptoms occur
Response
 The body responds to the virus by making antibodies. This
is called seroconversion when you move from HIV
negative to positive
No symptoms
 Your body moves into a phase where you experience no
symptoms, but are still affect, called asymptomatic
infection
How does HIV cause AIDS?
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Symptoms
 You begin to experience some symptoms of HIV such as
PCP
AIDS
 It is diagnosed (not a definite way to diagnose AIDS)
when you have certain symptoms, infections, and specific
test results
Person with a healthy immune system has a CD4 count is 500
to 1800
 Person is diagnosed with AIDS when the CD4 count goes
below 200 or if they have HIV with certain diseases such
as tuberculosis
How HIV transmitted?
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Sexual contact with an infected person
Sharing needles or syringes with someone who is infected
Through transfusions of infected blood
Babies born to HIV
 Infected women may infected their child before birth,
during birth, or through breastfeeding after birth
Infected blood gets into an open cut or a mucous membrane
 For example, the eyes or the inside of the nose
What are the social implications of
HIV/AIDS?
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Worldwide, about 33.2 million people are estimated to
be infected
There are about 2.5 million new infections and 2.1
million deaths each year
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Most (95%) occur in developing countries
One half occur in women, and one in seven occur in children
under 15 years old
In parts of Africa, more than 30% of people between
the ages of 15 and 45 are infected
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This threat can dramatically reduce the life expectancy of a
whole generation
What are the social implications of
HIV/AIDS?
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The dramatic loss of people due to AIDS in
certain countries has caused negative impacts in
societies
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Economically, infected men and women cannot
provide for their households
Expenses for the treatment of HIV/AIDS has taken a
toll on healthcare systems, especially in Africa
Businesses and agriculture has taken a hard hit due to
a loss of workers
HIV/AIDS Statistics, 2007
Region
Adults (15+) Living
with HIV/AIDS, 2007
Percent of Adults (15+)
living with HIV/AIDS
that are women, 2007
Children (<15) living
with HIV/AIDS, 2007
Adult (15+) and child
deaths due to AIDS,
2007
Sub-Saharan Africa
22.0 million
59%
1.8 million
1.5 million
South/Southeast Asia
4.2 million
37%
140,000
340,000
Eastern Europe/
Central Asia
1.5 million
31%
12,000
58,000
Latin America
1.7 million
32%
44,000
63,000
North America
1.2 million
21%
4,400
23,000
East Asia
740,000
27%
7,800
40,000
Western/Central
Europe
730,000
27%
1,300
8,000
Middle East/ North
Africa
380,000
54%
26,000
27,000
Caribbean
230,000
50%
11,000
14,000
Oceania
74,000
30%
1,100
1,000
Global
32.9 million
50%
2.0 million
2.0 million
Source: globalhealthreporting.org
Effect of AIDS on Child Mortality,
2002-2005
160
140
143
123
117
120
100
71
78
73
78
Current Rate
Rate if no AIDS
80
60
43
40
20
0
Lesotho
Nambia
Swaziland
Zimbabwe
Source: UNPopulation Division, World Population Prospects: The 2004 Revision(2005); and UNAIDS and
UNICEF, A Call to Action: Children, the Missing Face of AIDS(2005)
Prevention of HIV/AIDS
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Improve the infrastructure and capacity of healthcare
systems to provide treatment
Education
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Educate people on the impacts of HIV/AIDS and the ways that
they can prevent the infection of themselves or others
Reduce poverty, illiteracy, and other social, economic
and political factors that increases people’s
vulnerability to HIV