Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome or AIDS is an incurable disease that affects humans, and this disease is caused die to the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). The virus attacks the immune system, bringing down the body’s protection and making the affected individual susceptible to a multitude of infections, diseases and tumors.
HIV Infection - What Happens Next?
The detection and subsequent progress of the HIV depends on factors which remain under or beyond the control of the patient. An attack of flu is triggered in the affected individual within a month or two of infection. Common signs include fevers, headaches, tiredness and the swelling of lymph nodes in the regions of the neck and groin.
After suffering from an initial sickness, a person may not experience any other symptoms suggesting the presence of the infection for a span of 8 – 10 years. However, around 5 – 15% of affected people may fall sick more frequently and another 5 – 15% may not display any signs of HIV for more than ten years.
The Different Stages of HIV
The outward symptoms of this disease vary from person to person. Precise chemical tests are employed to find out under which of the three categories the disease has progressed. Out of these three stages, the final stage is Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS).
- Stage 1: A person who is categorized in stage 1 does not have any diseases related to severe HIV infection (AIDS defining disease). The patient also contains a relatively high degree of immune cells which fight the infection. These are called CD4 + T – Cells or CD 4 cells.
- Stage 2: A person suffering from stage 2 HIV has a relatively low amount of CD 4 cells which means that he is left with very less cells which can fight the HIV infection.
- Stage 3: The third stage is known as AIDS. A patient has at least one of the AIDS defining diseases and a very low amount of CD 4 cells.
Symptoms of the Disease
Signs of fever and sweat and swollen lymph nodes in the affected person might indicate the progression of HIV. The progress of HIV in an affected persons leads to a decline in the CD4 cell count.
The person will be prone to common infectious agents which would not cause any illness in a normal person. Due to lowered immunity, the patient can also suffer from certain types of cancer. The diagnosis of any one of the given conditions, along with a count of less than 200 CD4 cells can point towards AIDS. The most common AIDS defining diseases are as follows:
- Severe herpes simplex virus infections
- Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia
- Cytomegalovirus infection of the eye
- Active tuberculosis
- Yeast infection of the esophagus
- Severe shingles outbreaks
- Encephalopathy (brain inflammation)
- Wasting syndrome
- Cancer of the lymph glands
- Kaposi’s sarcoma
Characteristics Contributing HIV Progression
There are some factors which contribute to the rate at which the HIV infection progresses. Old people are more likely to fall ill than their younger counterparts. The way a person contracts the disease is a factor which determines the progression of the ailment. A study conducted found that men who got affected with the disease due to the fact that they had unsafe sex with men experience a high progression rate.
The disease progresses faster for men and women who contract HIV through multiple sex partners. The immune system and genetics of the affected person also determines how fast HIV infection can turn to AIDS.
An important aspect of this disease is that not all persons affected with HIV progress to AIDS. A study conducted on this came to the conclusion that out of 500 HIV positive cases only 10% expired due to a disease which had a very strong link to AIDS. Mostly the cause of death was a serious debilitating disease having a weak association with HIV or a factor which was not at all related to HIV.
During 1995 – 1996 the average life span of a 25 year old youngster infected with HIV was around eight years. However the statistics showed a drastic change from the years 2000–2005. During these years the average lifespan of a 25 year old had increased by at least four times - 33 years.
Improved treatment measures and long term behavioral changes in the infected persons are key factors which have contributed to the increased average life span.
