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| HIV/AIDS |
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| image: HIV virus attacking an immune cell. Picture from BBC website. |
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What is HIV?
HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) is the virus that causes AIDS. It's a virus that attacks the body's defence systems making it very weak and vulnerable to illnesses and infections. Usually our body can fight off infection quite well but if someone is infected with HIV, their body's immune system becomes very weak and so they tend to get ill quite often.
Not everyone who is infected with HIV will get ill though. Some people might be infected and live a perfectly normal life for many, many years before they even find out that they have the disease. For others it might be a lot sooner. HIV can stay in your body quite quietly (dormant) for some time and only shows itself when something triggers it. But when its triggered, that's when it starts to weaken a persons immune system and they will get sick often. |
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What is AIDS?
AIDS stands for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome and refers to when the number of immune cells in someone infected with HIV go below a certain level. At this point the person's immune system is very weak and makes them likely to suffer very harmful and potentially fatal diseases. |
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Who's affected?
HIV can affect anyone; whether young or old, black or white, man or woman.
AIDS knows no custom. It knows no colour. It knows no boundaries. We have to work together wherever we are to preserve our nation, our continent and humanity as a whole... Now is the time to work together to combat AIDS.
Nelson Mandela
How can HIV be transmitted? HIV can be passed through blood, bodily fluid or breast milk: - Contaminated blood, blood products and organ donations (particularly a problem in developing countries where blood is not screened for transfusions) - Contaminated needles (through drug abuse, getting tattoos or poor practice at medical centres, usually in developing countries) - Sexual Intercourse - Mother to child transmission (during pregnancy, childbirth or via breast milk) It cannot be passed through touching, sharing food, sneezing or from any animals. |
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How can HIV be transmitted?
HIV can be passed through blood, bodily fluid or breast milk:
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Contaminated blood, blood products and organ donations (particularly a problem in developing countries where blood is not screened for transfusions) |
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Contaminated needles (through drug abuse, getting tattoos or poor practice at medical centres, usually in developing countries) |
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Sexual Intercourse |
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Mother to child transmission (during pregnancy, childbirth or via breast milk) |
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| It cannot be passed through touching, sharing food, sneezing or from any animals. |
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Treatment
There is no cure for HIV but there are drugs called anti-retrovirals which can help someone who has the disease not to fall ill or to slow down the process of deterioration. These drugs need to be taken every day for life.
Drug treatment is free in the UK but not in other countries like those in Africa where the cases of HIV are the highest in the world.
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