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Information about HIV/AIDS

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Still an epidemic

There's still a long road ahead in the battle against HIV infection and its final stage - AIDS.

Though already infecting millions, the disease enters new lives every day. The only cure at this point is prevention, which requires knowledge about how to avoid the virus. Read below for more information on what scientists and doctors know about the genetics of HIV, the treatment and prevention of AIDS, and other important facts.

World AIDS day is annually on December 1.

(Picture license from Wikimedia)

Basic information about HIV and AIDS

HIV stands for human immunodeficiency virus. It is a retrovirus that infects human lymphocytes (white blood cells in the immune system, like T cells), multiplying inside the cell until it destroys it and then the new viruses go on to infect more lymphocytes. This depletion of the immune system causes AIDS - acquired immune deficiency syndrome.

At least half of all people who are infected with HIV are women and children, and at least half of those infected with HIV live in Africa.

HIV can infect anyone, regardless of health status, age, or sexual orientation though certain genetic mutations have been found to protect against HIV infection or AIDS progression.

Other animal AIDS viruses

The origins of HIV

Other species are known to be infected by similar and/or related viruses that cause immune deficiencies. A number of crossover events in the early 20th century provided the means for an animal virus to mutate for human infection.

Cats: FIV - feline immunodeficiency virus, causes feline AIDS
Monkeys: SIV - simian immunodeficiency virus, causes AIDS in non-human primates and is thought to be the origin of HIV
Horses: Equine infectious anemia, a contagious, chronic, viral blood disorder
Cows: BIV - bovine immunodeficiency virus, an acute disease described in1996, and JDV - Jembrana disease virus
Sheep: MVV - maedi visna virus, causes ovine progressive pneumonia

The first human cases

The first human case of HIV-1 infection is thought to have occurred in 1959. By 1966 it had traveled from Africa to Haiti, and by 1969 from Haiti to America. The first cases of AIDS were not reported in the U.S. until the 1980s because it can take decades for the virus to cause AIDS.

How HIV spreads

HIV circulates in the blood and body fluids and is transmitted when they are exchanged.

Sex - the virus can be taken up by dendritic cells (a type of immune cell) in the vaginal epithelium, infection can occur by infected body fluid entering cuts or tears around the genitals, or even by body fluids entering cuts in the mouth or on the hands.
Sharing needles - intravenous drug users are at high risk of HIV and other bloodborne illnesses because of the transfer of viruses via shared needles.
Blood transfer - blood banks now screen for HIV prior to donations being eligible for transfusion, but in the early 1980s hemophiliacs (who receive more transfusions than the average person) were at risk of HIV from infected blood supply. Health care workers are still risk of transmitting the virus from needle stabs or excess bleeding from a patient and a lack of personal protective gear (i.e. gloves and goggles) that allows the infected blood to enter a cut in the skin or via the mucous membranes.
Breast feeding - infants can become infected by nursing if their mother is infected with HIV, as occurs in Africa
Pregnancy - A baby can become infected before birth via transplacental spread from their infected mother, or during birth by blood exchange

More information on HIV/AIDS

Diagnosis

AIDS-defining conditions

AIDS is diagnosed when an HIV-positive individual also exhibits certain symptoms - specifically a CD4+ T cell count that drops below 200 and opportunistic infections. Over the last 30 years doctors have developed a list of commonly seen infections in AIDS patients.

Opportunistic infections generally don't affect healthy adults, but once HIV has decimated the immune system a person becomes vulnerable to a number of bacteria, viruses, and fungi - and even some tumors.

Kaposi's sarcoma - a vascular skin tumor, possibly associated with herpesvirus-8 co-infection
Lymphoma - the incidence of Burkitt's lymphoma and diffuse large B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma increases among HIV patients
Pneumonia - specifically that caused by the fungus Pneumocystis carnii
Yeast infections - candiadiasis (aka thrush), cryptococcosis, and pennicilliosis
CMV disease - Cytomegalovirus usually doesn't cause disease though it's found in a majority of the population
Tuberculosis - Treatment-resistant TB is being seen more and more because of the increased longevity of HIV patients
Mycobacterial infection
Histoplasmosis
...and more

Testing

Testing for HIV is the only way to know for certain whether you are infected and reduce the risk of transmitting the virus to your loved ones. Many tests exist, but the simplest can be done at home.

What it is like to get an HIV test: The most important things a sexually active person can do to prevent the transmission of HIV is to practice safe sex and undergo routine HIV testing.

The HIV virion

Organizations of Interest

HIV/AIDS Organizations - AIDSTruth.org: A list from AIDSTruth
The World Health Organization: HIV Department
UNAIDS: The United Nations Joint Programme on HIV/AIDS
AIDS & HIV information from the AIDS charity AVERT: AVERT.org provides AIDS & HIV information, including information about HIV/AIDS infection, HIV testing, prevention, global and African information, AIDS treatment, statistics and personal stories.
What is the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI)?: The International AIDS Vaccine Initiative is a global nonprofit organization comprising three consortia of HIV/AIDS researchers: the Neutralizing ...

Status of the epidemic

Study shows AIDS drugs reduce HIV transmission: Individuals diagnosed with HIV are presented with a life-shattering possibility - transmission of the eventually lethal virus to their spouse or partner
Controlling the AIDS epidemic in Africa: The AIDS situation in Africa is truly an epidemic. In 2006, 72% of worldwide AIDS related deaths were in...
How concerned should Americans be about HIV/AIDS in the Caribbean?: An increase in AIDS cases, anywhere, is a public health threat. It is a threat not only to the country or region or continent where it is found, b...
AIDS Epidemic Update January 2008: Historical aspects of the disease in the last few years - 2008 saw new methods for determining HIV infection rates and a new study that determined the origin of AIDS in the United States.
Research finds that progesterone contraceptives increase risk of contracting HIV: HIV changed the landscape of sexual relationships, making condoms a more ubiquitous presence in "the birds and the bees". But how do hormonal forms of birth control affect the epidemic?

A vaccine in the future?

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The future of HIV

U.S. Congress Forms HIV/AIDS Caucus: House members come together to ensure the National AIDS Strategy is only a first step in the increased effort to halt the disease.
What we have ahead of us in the fight against HIV and AIDS: The fight against HIV/AIDS is far from over. Since the first infection was brought to light in the United States in the 1980s it has killed over 22..., Alicia M Prater PhD
The Future of AIDS: Trial and Error Plagues HIV Prevention and Treatment: The lives of AIDS patients are hinging on new treatments, but preventing HIV infection is still a challenge. Here is a summary of recent developments.
Could an HIV vaccine really be on the horizon: We all want to hear a resounding yes! when asking if there is an HIV vaccine in the near future. Although I am sure there will be leaps and bounds ..., Alicia M Prater PhD
The possibility of a cure for AIDS within the next ten years: Due to the nature of HIV itself, I think there will never be a cure. There will be new strides in treatment as we discover new things about its str..., Alicia M Prater PhD
How can we protect the worlds people from HIV ?: According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 1 million people in the United States are living with HIV. Since the early 1..., Alicia M Prater PhD
Broadly neutralizing HIV antibodies and their role in creating a vaccine: The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a tricky pathogen that eludes the immune system by undergoing continuous mutation when it replicates ins...

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