ACQUIRED IMMUNODEFICIENCY SYNDROME REVIEWER
AIDS
 a.k.a. Human a.k.a. Acquired Immunodeficiency
Syndrome
 A term which applies to the most advanced stages of
HIV infection.
 Defined by the occurrence of any of more than 20
opportunistic infections or HIV-related cancers
 A disease of the immune system due to infection with
HIV.
 HIV destroys the CD4 T lymphocytes (CD4
cells) of the immune system, leaving the
body vulnerable to life-threatening infections
and cancers.
 To be diagnosed with AIDS, a person with
HIV must have an AIDS-defining condition or
have a CD4 count less than 200 cells/mm³
(regardless of whether the person has an
AIDS-defining condition).
 Following initial infection, a person may not notice any
symptoms or may experience a brief period
of influenza-like illness
 As the infection progresses, it interferes more with
the immune system, increasing the risk of common
infections like tuberculosis, as well as
other opportunistic infections, and tumors that rarely
affect people who have working immune
systems. These late symptoms of infection are
referred to as acquired immunodeficiency syndrome
(AIDS). This stage is often also associated
with weight loss.
HIV
 a.k.a. Human Immunodeficiency Virus
 Is a virus that attacks the immune system; it can be
transmitted by unprotected sex (including anal and
oral), contaminated blood transfusions, hypodermic
needles, and from mother to child during pregnancy,
delivery, or breastfeeding. Some bodily fluids, such as
saliva and tears, do not transmit HIV.
 The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infects cells
of the immune system, destroying or impairing their
function.
 Infection with the virus results in progressive
deterioration of the immune system, leading
to "immune deficiency."
 The immune system is considered deficient
when it can no longer fulfil its role of fighting
infection and disease. Infections associated
with severe immunodeficiency are known as
"opportunistic infections", because they take
advantage of a weakened immune system.
HISTORY
 Earliest case of HIV came from a bloodsample of a
man from the Democratic Republic of Congo
 Said that the virus spread from chimpanzees to
humans sometime before1931 – during “Bush Meat
Trading” – hunters would come in contact with animal
blood while hunting chimpanzees.
 Before the 1980s, researchers estimate that about
100,000 to 300,000 people were infected with HIV.
 The earliest case was confirmed in 1968, in Robert
Rayford, a 16-year-old teenager, who never left the
Midwest or received a blood transfusion. This
suggests that HIV and AIDS may have been present
in the United States before 1966.
 Before AIDS was identified, the disease
appeared as other immunodeficiency
conditions like Pneumocystic carinii
pneumonia (PCP) and Kaposi sarcoma (KS).
A year after scientists identified AIDS they
discovered the cause: HIV.
EPIDEMIOLOGY
 Global pandemic with more than 70 million people
that have been infected with the HIV virus and about
35 million people that have died of HIV, ever since the
beginning of the epidemic.
 Heterosexual transmission remains the dominant
mode of transmission and accounts for about 85% of
all HIV-1 infections.
 HIV is only transmitted through body fluids such as:
 Blood – most common
 Vaginal secretions
 Semen
 HIV can spread through:
 Direct blood transfusion – highest risk of
infection
 Needle sharing among people who use
illegal drugs
 Sexual intercourse anally, and vaginally
 During pregnancy and breastfeeding
HIV LIFE CYCLE