MEDICINE

HIV/AIDS

HIV/AIDS

Introduction

AIDS is said to be an acronym for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. HIV/AIDS had always existed in our world but it was not until 1981 that humanity acknowledged its existence. HIV/AIDS is said to be a major cause of mortality in the word, be it in the ancient or the modern times (Crepaz, 2002). The cause of the disease known as AIDS (HIV) infection is defeated organizma virusom human immunodeficiency. HIV/AIDS is said to be the only disease that has been intensely studied as compared to the other disease.

About HIV/AIDS

Immunodeficiency virus belongs to the lent virus, which is a slow acting, and it belongs to the group called retrovirus. At the core of T-lymphocyte contains genetic information 100 000 times greater than in the virus, but the cell is unable to resist the virus and begins to slowly crumble from its damaging effects. Almost all the genetic information known in the nature of the cells of viruses is encoded in the form of DNA. In human immunodeficiency virus is encoded in RNA. HIV is able to use transcriptase enzyme to translate their RNA into DNA, so the cell, which penetrates the virus takes the foreign DNA. This process takes about 12 hours after infection. It is after this process that the disease becomes irreversible. It is because of the fact that the DNA of the virus begins to manage the human immune system, and by the time when HIV infection is transformed into AIDS, a large number of cells contain the genetic material of the virus. Despite the detailed scrutiny of HIV, many aspects of HIV infection is not entirely clear in terms of the actual mechanism when it comes to the destructive effects of the virus on the immune system, and why is it that many people are infected with HIV manage to stay healthy for a longer period of time where as some are immediately impacted by the disease.

Despite the fact that numerous scientists around the world have been in constant struggle of trying to find a cure for it but they have not been able to. If the treatment is not conducted within 5 to 10 years of infection then The HIV infection converts to AIDS. HIV is said to be detected through the appearance of the antibodies in the blood stream. In the absence of treatment, that to for 5 - 10 years in people with HIV infection develops AIDS. HIV infection is diagnosed based on appearance in the blood of antibodies to the virus or gene chains. The reliability of these tests is not in doubt.

History

Figure 1: (www.iavireport.org)

History has it that the first case of AIDS was detected in the year of 1984. It was a year later that the government of Kenya established a committee to handle issues related to the disease. A year later policy statements were developed which had guidelines in relation to the concept of safe blood supply. The government of Kenya still perceived the disease as a general health ...