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Malawi Health Care Support UK
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| Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) | |
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View HIV/AIDS Statistics in Malawi.
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Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, (AIDS), is caused by the Human Immunodeficiency Virus, (HIV).
It is a sexually transmitted disease, (STD).
This means infection can occur upon exposure to bodily fluids, (e.g. blood, semen, breast milk), of an infected person.
It is primarily contracted through sexual contact.
It can also be caught by sharing contaminated hypodermic needles and passed mother to child.
The risk of contracting the virus is greater in those infected with other stsis such as candidiasis and herpes simplex virus.
The HIV virus mainly attacks the white blood cells known as "helper T lymphocytes", (or T4 helper cells). The cells are a crucial part of the immune system, responsible for stimulating the other processes and cells involved in the system. On entering the cell, the virus affects the cells ability to perform its functions and can even destroy the cell. The virus can also attack other cells such as some of the monocytes and even brain cells. Like other viruses, HIV enters a cell in order to reproduce. It uses the cells own reproduction system to copy its RNA, (the virus equivalent of DNA). Eventually the amount of virus becomes such that the T4 helper cells are destroyed quicker than the body can replace them. |
After periods of up to 10 years, other symptoms manifest themselves. By this time, the immune system has become severely compromised. Diseases which would normally easily be fought off by the immune system take hold. At this stage the patient is said to have "fully blown AIDS". Common infections suffered by AIDS sufferers include:
No vaccine or cure has yet been found for AIDS, which is now the worlds biggest killer. 5.3 million new cases of HIV occurred in 2000, with 3 million deaths over that year. In 15 years there have been a reported 21.8 million deaths form AIDS. (Source: WHO/UNAID.) Death normally occurs because of the uncompromising onset of opportunistic diseases.
There have been many drugs developed to slow down the onset of AIDS in HIV infected persons. These include azidothymidine (AZT, or zidovudine), 3TC, and dideoxyinosine (ddI). These drugs target the reverse transcriptase enzyme, inhibiting its activity and thereby curbing reproduction of the virus.
Protease inhibitors, such as ritonavir and indinavir, show promise in combating HIV. These prevent the final processing of a important HIV proteins by the enzyme HIV protease. As such they stem the development of AIDS, at least temporarily. Protease inhibitors are most effective when used in conjunction with two different reverse transcriptase inhibitors, (the so-called "triple-drug therapy").
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