The immune system is a complex network of cells, tissues, and organs that work together to defend against germs.
It helps your body recognize foreign invaders.
Then tries is to keep them out or to find and destroy them
AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome):
Description:
a chronic, potentially life-threatening condition caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)
HIV damages your immune system and interferes with your body's ability to fight the organisms that cause diseases
If you receive no treatment for your HIV infection, the disease typically progresses to AIDS in about 10 years.
By the time AIDS develops, your immune system has been severely damaged, making you susceptible to diseases that wouldn't trouble a person with a healthy immune system
Signs and Symptoms:
Early stages: virus spreads the most quickly
Flu like symptoms within a month or two after the virus has entered the body
Fever
Headache
Muscle aches
Rash
Chills
Sore throat
Mouth or genital ulcers
Swollen lymph glands, mainly on the neck
Night sweats
Diarrhea
Joint pain
Later stages:
Fever
Fatigue
Swollen lymph nodes
one of the first signs of HIV infection
Diarrhea
Weight loss
Cough
Shortness of breath
Causes:
“Scientists believe a virus similar to HIV first occurred in some populations of chimps and monkeys in Africa, where they're hunted for food. Contact with an infected monkey's blood during butchering or cooking may have allowed the virus to cross into humans and become HIV”.
To become infected with HIV, some type of fluid must enter your body
you can't become infected through ordinary contact — hugging, kissing, dancing or shaking hands — with someone who has HIV or AIDS. HIV can't be transmitted through the air, water or via insect bites
You can become infected with HIV in several ways:
By having sex.
From blood transfusions
By sharing needles
During pregnancy or delivery or through breast-feeding
Diagnosed:
If you think you have HIV, the doctor will conduct a physical exam checking for…
Swollen lymph nodes
Lesions on your skin or in your mouth
Neurological problems
Abnormal sounds in your lungs
Enlarged organs in your abdomen
Diagnosed by testing your blood or saliva for antibodies to the virus
However, it takes time for the body to develop these antibodies
A newer type of test that checks for HIV antigen, a protein produced by the virus immediately after infection, can confirm a diagnosis within days of infection
If HIV positive, there are test to determine what stage you are at
CD4 count: A healthy person's CD4 count can vary from 500 to more than 1,000. HIV infection progresses to AIDS when your CD4 count dips below 200.
Viral load: This test measures the amount of virus in your blood.
Drug resistance: This blood test determines whether the strain of HIV you have will be resistant to certain anti-HIV medications.
Pathophysiology:
the virus replicates inside and kills T helper cells, which are required for almost all adaptive immune responses.
HIV destroys CD4 cells, a specific type of white blood cell that plays a large role in helping your body fight disease
Your immune system weakens as more CD4 cells are killed
After your number CD4 cells falls below 200 you develop AIDS