The Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV

Despite numerous preventive campaigns, HIV is still widespread and AIDS is still many victims. The condom is currently the only means of protection against this disease.

Specifications

About 40 million people worldwide living with HIV. Trivialization is observed more and more of the disease, which is not without worrying health authorities. For if we speak more freely now, this does not mean that the disease has lost its gravity.

Infection with HIV can, if not treated, progress to AIDS (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome). The disease primarily attacks the immune system, leaving a person defenseless in the face of so-called opportunistic diseases (normally harmless but become dangerous when you are immunocompromised).

It defines the different stages reached by AIDS through the viral load (the amount of virus in the blood) and CD4 (special white blood cells) obtained by analyzing blood samples. There are four phases that follow and can be spread over several years. Primary infection corresponds to the weeks after the HIV infection. The second phase is asymptomatic infection, the virus can live in the body for years without manifesting. Then comes the symptomatic phase which sees show signs of the virus. Finally, when the rate of immune cells are very low, we come to the fourth stage AIDS.

Symptoms

The symptoms caused by HIV during primary infection and symptomatic phase are not really specific, they somewhat resemble those of the flu. Of fever, fatigue, rash, swollen glands, or diarrhea, all signs that can be linked to other diseases. This is why screening is so important.

Mode of transmission

HIV is present in all biological fluids and body secretions. It is therefore transmitted through blood, through sexual intercourse and from mother to child. The milk of a woman is infected may infect her baby if she is breastfeeding.

A person in treatment is contagious, it must protect yourself with a condom during sexual intercourse and avoid people that surround it are in contact with blood.

Treatment

There is currently no treatment that can cure AIDS. However, treatments have been developed to relieve the patients throughout their lives, alleviating symptoms and delaying disease progression.

These treatments involve as antiviral nucleoside inhibitors, protease inhibitors, fusion inhibitors ... (See the article on the treatment of AIDS). They are generally used in combination therapy (combination of 3 drugs) or quadruple (4-drug combination) to prevent the virus becoming resistant to treatment.

However, side effects are common and troublesome in life everyday. It is therefore essential to protect themselves from HIV by using condoms during sexual intercourse.