Hello everyone! How have you all been? :) Hope that you are all coping well with your studies!
Today, in this post, we will be talking about how HIV affects each individual. HIV infection is usually divided into 4 stages: acute primary infection, clinical latent infection, symptomatic HIV infection and progression from HIV to AIDS.
Acute Primary Infection. For the first few weeks of contracting HIV, about 70% of people will experience flu-like symptoms which include fever, headache, upset stomach and muscle soreness. A positive diagnosis is possible at this stage but many of us will not link their symptoms with HIV infection. Hence, they will not be aware that they have contracted the virus.
For this infection, HIV-infected cells are circulating throughout the blood system. Your body will respond by producing HIV antibodies and cytotoxic lymphocytes (killer T-cells that seek out and destroy invading virus/ bacteria). About 2 to 4 weeks after the infection, the immune system mounts an attack against HIV with the antibodies and killer T-cells. This will cause the HIV levels in the blood to be reduced greatly and CD4+ T-cell counts rebound slightly.
Clinical latent infection. The second stage of HIV infection has an average duration of about 10 years. During this phase, people infected with HIV will live normally as the infection will not cause any additional symptoms or complication. The circulating level of HIV in the blood will become very low and undetectable. People with HIV will remain infectious and can pass HIV to another individual during this phase.
HIV is very active in your body’s lymph system although they are present in very small amounts in your blood. Your doctor may suggest that you take medication as soon as you are diagnosed. From this medication, you may experience side effects. If you choose not to take medication, your doctor may monitor you regularly during the latency period to monitor the virus’s progress.
Symptomatic HIV infection. As time progress to third stage, HIV destroys your immune system. Once the viral load increases, it is an indication that the immune system is deteriorating which also means that the disease is reaching a more advanced stage. At this time, patients will start their treatment with anti-retroviral medications (if they are not already on medications)
If the medications fails to work, the immune system will start to deteriorate even quickly. Initially, the HIV symptoms are very mild. But as the disease progress, the immune system will weaken and the symptoms may get even worst too! Symptoms of the late stage HIV infection includes: rapid loss of weight, memory loss, recurring fever and diarrhea which may last more than a week.
Progression from HIV to AIDS. In the final stage of HIV, the immune system is severely compromised. Infections may become worst. CD4+ T-cells count fall dramatically and viral load increases significantly. When the CD4+ T-cells count fall below 200 cells per cubic millimetre of blood, the person may be diagnosed with a stage 4 HIV related conditions (which includes tuberculosis, cancer and pneumonia). The HIV infection has also progressed to AIDS and the person may be more prone to death. Some patients will live only a few months after reaching the 4th stage of HIV and some may live for many years. BUT, WITH THE NEW ADVANCES IN MEDICATION, THE LIFE EXPECTANCY OF PEOPLE WITH AIDS IS GROWING YAY!
Right now , we are going to tell you guys the types of HIV test which are used to detect HIV from patients. (Be it detecting from home or a laboratory)
1. Antibody screening test (immunoassay) which tests for the antibodies that your body makes against HIV. They are conducted in a lab using either blood or oral fluid (BUT NOT SALIVA).
2. Rapid test which is used for screening at the site. It produces quick results about 30 mins or less. They use blood or oral fluid to look for antibodies to HIV.
3. RNA test which detects the virus directly instead of the antibodies to HIV. It can be detected at about 10 days after infections (as soon as it appears in the bloodstream).
4. Home Access HIV-1 Test system which is a home collection kit that pricks your finger to collect the blood and send it to a licensed laboratory. It is an anonymous test.
5. OraQuick In Home HIV test which provides rapid results at home. It is conducted by swabbing your mount with an oral fluid sample and use a kit to test it.
To end this post off, we would like to share with you a short video interview showing how a HIV patient’s battle with the disease and how he eventually took on a more positive outlook to his circumstance. Enjoy!(: Also, do continue to follow our blog for the next post in which we would be sharing more on the biochemistry behind HIV!
Till then,
Stay cool, stay healthy
TERESA AND NERISSA
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interesting video,wow didnt know you can do hiv test at home
ReplyDeleteOmg, poor guy :( this infection is really fatal :(((
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