What is HIV/AIDS?

What is HIV?

H - Human - because this virus can only infect human beings (A similar virus exists which is capable of infecting several types of monkeys; scientists call this virus SIV [Simian Immunodeficiency Virus]. Another similar disease exists among cats; this is caused by a virus named FIV [Feline Immunodeficiency Virus]).

I - Immunodeficiency - because the effect of the virus is to create a deficiency, a failure to work properly, within the body's immune system.

V - Virus - because this organism is a virus, which means one of its characteristics is that it is incapable of reproducing by itself. It reproduces by taking over the machinery of the human cell.

What is AIDS?

A - Acquired - because it's a condition one must acquire or get infected with, not something transmitted through the genes

I - Immune - because it affects the body's immune system, the part of the body which usually works to fight off germs such as bacteria and viruses

D - Deficiency - because it makes the immune system deficient (makes it not work properly)

S - Syndrome - because someone with AIDS may experience a wide range of different diseases and opportunistic infections.

AIDS is a condition diagnosed by a physician when the person is suffering from a group of different symptoms that are caused by severe HIV infection. AIDS makes the body vulnerable to life-threatening illnesses called opportunistic infections.

Common opportunistic infections and diseases include:

• Pneumocystis Carinii Pneumonia
• Toxoplasmosis
• Fungal Infections
• Kaposi’s Sarcoma
• Mycobacterium Avium Complex (MAC)
• Cytomegalovirus (CMV)
• Cervical Dysplasia/Cervical Cancer
• Active Tuberculosis
• Encephalitis due to HIV
• AIDS related Neuro-Degenerative Disease (Dementia)
• Cryptococcosis
• Cryptosporiodiosis and Isospora Infection (Protozoans)
• Herpes Simplex (Last over one month)