Hiv Aids And Stds
Understanding the relationships between HIV, AIDS and STD help in preventing the diseases and developing preventive measures. Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome or AIDS is human immune system disease caused by the human immunodeficiency virus or HIV. Sexually Transmitted Disease or STD increases the risk of HIV infection. Treating AIDS and HIV slows down the disease but currently, there is no cure. Antiretroviral drugs reduce the mortality rate of HIV infection but they are expensive and not easily accessible. Preventing the infection is the key in controlling the epidemic of AIDS. In the past few years HIV and AIDS infections have increased rapidly, mainly among the youth.
Individuals infected with STDs are more likely to catch HIV infection when exposed to the virus through sexual contact. STDs increase the body's susceptibility to HIV infection in two ways. Genital ulcers like herpes or syphilis breaks the genital tract lining. This is where HIV enters the body through. Inflammation from genital ulcers increases the cell concentration in genital secretions serving as a target for HIV.
Preventing, testing and treating STDs reduce the ability to sexually transmit HIV. STD surveillance data helps to forecast where HIV rates can increase. Better linkages between HIV and STD prevention efforts are needed to control both the diseases.
HIV infects and damages the body's defense mechanisms against infection. A weakened immunity leads to AIDS making it difficult for the body to fight off infectious diseases. HIV gets transmitted through direct contact with body fluids or blood of an already infected person. This usually occurs through sharing needles or by having unprotected sex. Since there are no vaccines or cures for HIV and AIDS, prevention is the best form of cure.
The HIV virus attacks specific lymphocytes in the immune system called the T-cells by taking them over and multiplying. As a result, the body's ability to fight off invading germs gets damaged. AIDS can lead to severe life-threatening infections, cancer and the damage of the nervous system.
The ways through which HIV is passed on to a child are before child birth, at the time of birth and during breastfeeding. Among the youth, it spreads through unprotected sexual acts and sharing of needles while injecting drugs or tattooing. Sometimes, the virus does get transmitted through blood transfusions and by direct contact with an open wound of an infected person.
There are no immediate signs of HIV infection during birth. The first symptoms start appearing after the child is two to three months old. He or she begins to look sick with repeated fungal infections, poor weight gain, enlarged lymph nodes liver or spleen and neurological problems. In young adults, for symptoms to show, it may take up to 10 years or more. Once the symptoms appear, they include intense fatigue, rapid weight loss, persistent diarrhoea, swollen lymph nodes and night sweats.
Accurate diagnosis of HIV in early infancy comes through tests like HIV viral culture and PCR (polymerase chain reaction), a blood test looking for the virus DNA. Teens and adults undergo an ELISA test to detect HIV antibodies in the blood. If the test is positive, another test called Western blot is done.