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click to see the
structure of HIV
People
catch many infections during their lives. Some are caused by bacteria or
parasites. These can be cured with antibiotics or by other medicines. Some are
caused by viruses. There are many different kinds of viruses which can cause
illnesses such as colds, influenza or measles. People know when they have caught
these viruses because they quickly feel ill and have symptoms like a sore
throat, a fever or a rash. Illnesses caused by a virus cannot be cured by
antibiotics or other medicines (although medicines may help to reduce the
symptoms) but people usually get better after a few days or weeks because the
white blood cells of the immune system in their bodies - which is responsible
for fighting diseases - successfully overcomes them. It does this by creating ANTIBODIES to
that virus. The person is then unlikely to get exactly the same illness again.
We say they are IMMUNE to that
disease.
However,
many people do not feel ill at all when they are first infected with HIV and
they may have no symptoms for a long time. They look and feel well and can be
healthy, strong, fat and beautiful. Because of this they may not know that they
have the virus, but they could pass it on to someone else.
When a
person is infected with HIV the immune system tries to fight off the virus and
does make some antibodies, but these antibodies are not able to defeat HIV. When
enough antibodies to HIV have been made (between two weeks and three months
after infection) they can be detected by a blood test. If HIV antibodies are
found in a person's blood the person is said to be HIV positive. Being HIV
positive is not the same as having AIDS.
HIV
acts by gradually destroying the immune system of the infected person. After
about 5 to 10 years (although much earlier in a minority of cases) the immune
system becomes so weak - or 'deficient'- that it cannot
fight off infections as
it used to. The infected person typically begins to lose weight and become ill
with diseases like persistent severe diarrhea, fever, pneumonia, swollen glands,
cough and exhaustion, skin rashes and thrush. Women may suffer from severe
vaginal infections. Such a person now has AIDS.
People with AIDS can be helped with
medicines for the different infections and support from other people which
enable them to continue working and live an active life as long as possible. At
the moment though, in spite of much research, there is no
cure for HIV infection or for AIDS and
so, sadly, it is almost certain that people diagnosed with AIDS will die.