AIDS 101- what you absolutely need to know
by: Mansi gupta

Introduction

Due both to the stigma and the awareness program attached with it, now AIDS has become a common household term. There are very less people who actually know that the exact word is Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, AIDS in short. Because of the morbidity and mortality attached and also because of the ignorance about it there are lots and lots of myths against this deadly disease. This alone shows the anxiety and concern of the general mass.

History

The virus for this disease is thought to have transmitted from simian monkeys in the forests of Africa to humans and from there it traveled to USA and different countries. It was brewing in the bodies till in 1981 in USA the Center for Disease Control and prevention (CDC) recognized it for the first time and reported that there was an unexplained occurrence of an unusual pneumonia in a few homosexuals. Soon the disease was to be found in intravenous drug users. But it was only in 1983 that the causative virus was isolated from a patient and then further classified. Obviously because of the ignorance initially the information was confined to only certain specific institutions in the early 1980s. Then as the disease became more prevalent and showed its mortality pattern more and more people became aware of this disease. Today it’s a topic of concern for every type of doctor be it a family physician, obstetrician, dentist, dermatologist or any other field.

HIV and AIDS

AIDS is a disease, as the name suggests, in which the person over a period of time loses his power of immunity to fight infections and hence he is a prey to a host of infections which otherwise wont have occurred. The causative organism is a virus called the Human Immunodeficiency Virus. On gaining entry into the body of a subject through another patient’s body fluids such as blood, blood products, semen, etc. the virus remains in the lymphatic system and gets replicated. Then over a period of years it reduces the body’s immune system.

Current problem

The problem is so severe that according to CDC, till 2003 the number of AIDS cases in USA are 1.2 million and the number are still increasing and 40,000 new cases get infected each year in whole of USA.

Diseases associated with aids

There are many different diseases associated with this disease ranging from all types of bacterial infections to viral infections and other protozoal and helminthic infections.

Management

The disease is managed by a whole lot of drugs because of the inability of the scientists to develop a vaccine against it. The drugs against it are basically divided into two types. One type prevents against the possible development of the potential bacterial, viral and helminthic infections and the other group helps in the killing and preventing replication of HIV. The first group has drugs such as trimethoprim sulfamethoxazole, clarithromycin, amphotericin, fluconazole, etc. The latter group has antiviral drugs such as zidovudine, didanosine, saquinavir, indinavir, enfuvirtide, etc.

Prevention

Till there are no effective vaccines available prevention is the best cost effective treatment available. Adherence to universal precautions meaning that every body fluid from a patient is considered to be infected from HIV until proven otherwise should be practiced. Also there are various institutions and organizations both governmental and non-governmental involved in creating awareness throughout the world.

About the author:
Mansi gupta writes about aids topics. Learn more at http://www.aidsbriefing.com.

The Cause of Aids
by: padrone desusid

AIDS is acquired immuno deficiency syndrome. It is a fatal disease caused by a rapidly mutate retrovirus which attacks the immune system and leaves the patient susceptible to infections, malignancies, and
neurological disorders. It was first recognized as a disease in 1981. The virus was isolated in 1983 and was ultimately named the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). There are two forms of the HIV virus, HIV-1
and HIV-2. The majority of cases worldwide are caused by HIV-1.

It is transmitted primarily by exposure to contaminated body fluids, especially blood and semen. In 1999 an international team of genetic scientists reported that HIV-1 can be traced to a closely related strain of virus, called simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV), that infects a subspecies of chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes troglodytes) in Africa. Chimpanzees are hunted for meat in this region, and it is believed the virus may have passed from the blood of chimpanzees into humans through superficial wounds, probably in the early 1930s.

In a process, HIV infects the CD4 cells of the body's immune system, cells that are necessary to activate B-lymphocytes and induce the production of antibodies.
This is still imperfectly understood. The body fights back producing billions of lymphocytes daily to fight the billions of copies of the virus. The immune system is eventually plagued and the body is left vulnerable to
opportunistic infections and malignancy.

Some people develop flu like symptoms shortly after infection, but many have no symptoms. It may be a few months or many years before serious symptoms develop in adults; symptoms usually develop within the first two years of life in infants infected in the womb or at birth. Before serious symptoms occur, an infected person may experience fever, weight loss, diarrhea,fatigue, skin rashes, shingles thrush, or memory problems. Infants may fail to develop normally.

The definition of AIDS has been refined, as more knowledge has become available. In general it refers to that period in the infection when the CD4 count goes below 200 from a normal count of 1,000 or when the
characteristic opportunistic infections and cancers appear. The conditions associated with AIDS include malignancies such as Kaposi's sarcoma, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, primary lymphoma of the brain, and invasive carcinoma of the cervix.

Opportunistic infections characteristic of or more virulent in AIDS include Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia, herpes simplex, cytomegalo virus, and
diarrhea diseases caused by cryptosporidium or isospora. In addition, hepatitis C is prevalent in intravenous drug users and hemophiliacs with AIDS,and an estimated 4 to 5 million people who have tuberculosis are coinfected with HIV, each disease hastening the progression of the other.

Children may experience more serious forms of common childhood ailments such as tonsillitis and conjunctivitis. These infections conspire to cause a wide range of symptoms like coughing, diarrhea, fever and night sweats, and headaches and may lead to extreme weight loss, blindness, hallucinations, and dementia before death occurs.

HIV is not transmitted by casual contact. Transmission requires a direct exchange of body fluids, such as blood or blood products, breast milk, semen, or vaginal secretions, most commonly as a result of sexual activity
or the sharing of needles among drug users. Such a transmission may also occur from mother to baby during pregnancy or at birth. Saliva, tears, urine, feces, and sweat do not appear to transmit the virus.

About the author:
padrone desusid is the owner of
FY Aids
which is a premier resource for aids information. for more information, go to http://www.fyaids.com