HIV - AIDS and the Immune System

HIV (in green) Budding on a Lymphocyte

HIV (Human Immunodefiency Virus) causes AIDS, or Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. AIDS is actually the result of a severely weakened immune system caused by HIV. When the immune system becomes ineffective, all sorts of diseases and infections enter the body. This is why it is extremely difficult to treat AIDS, and almost all who have been infected by the disease rarely survive AIDS. This article will discuss AIDS and how it affects the immune system.

What HIV does when it enters the body is it infects the cells of the immune system, takes over them, and produces more of its kind. The cells of the immune system are often used as vessels for reproduction or are stopped from functioning. As a result, more and more of the immune system’s cells are invaded and more of the virus is produced. The body eventually loses all of its vital defense mechanisms and becomes susceptible to all kinds of diseases and infections. This is when a person with HIV gets AIDS. When one starts to get infected by various diseases and infections within a short period of time, the body becomes “overworked” in trying to defend itself and no longer has time to recover.

There are four stages of HIV infection. The primary HIV infection (first stage) involves large amounts of HIV present in the peripheral blood. In this stage the immune system reacts to the virus by secreting HIV antibodies and cytotoxic lymphocytes. At this stage, an HIV antibody test may not turn out positive. Symptoms at this point are often characterized as flu-like symptoms.

The clinically asymptomatic stage (second stage) involves the levels of HIV in the peripheral blood dramatically decreasing. However, the infected body stays highly infectious and tests will indicate a positive result.

On the third stage, the body will have had symptomatic HIV infection. This means the virus has already damaged the immune system to an extent that it is no longer able to function properly. Lymph nodes and tissues have collapsed, the body is no longer able to replace T helper cells, and the virus continues to mutate and grow stronger.

On the fourth stage, the HIV infection progresses into AIDS. This is when your immune system collapses and other infectious diseases are able to enter the body easily. Symptoms are no longer mild but rather much worse at this stage.

The symptoms of HIV are generally undetected because infected individuals can still look well and healthy, even though their immune systems have already been damaged. Typically, a person who has been infected just a few weeks before can experience a brief flu-like illness as a symptom. After a few days or weeks, this symptom can disappear.

HIV can be transmitted through sexual intercourse with an infected person, infected blood, and birth (an infected pregnant woman can pass the virus to her unborn child). The best way to find out if you have HIV/AIDS or not is to be tested. For medical advice, consult a healthcare professional.