Virus and you

Symptoms of HIV can include:

• chronic yeast infections or thrush (yeast infection of the mouth)
• Fever and/or night sweats
• Easy bruising
• Bouts of extreme exhaustion
• Unexplained body rashes
• Appearance of purplish lesions on the skin or inside mouth
• Sudden unexplained weight loss
• Chronic diarrhea lasting for a month or more

After you get HIV about ten years later you can get aids. But with treatments it will take about 10-15 years more to get it than non treated HIV carriers.

How is HIV spread and who is most vulnerable?


HIV is spread through body fluids. Anything such as intercourse, direct contact with infected blood, sharing needles, or from infected mother to her unborn child can help spread HIV.
A form of HIV has been found in wild gorillas in western central Africa. This is the first time the AIDS-causing virus has been detected in primates other than chimps and humans.
Women are more vulnerable than men for HIV, especially women in poor countries such as
Africa or Asia. Researchers at Johns Hopkins found that men infected with a combination of hepatitis B and HIV are 17 times more likely to die than those with hepatitis B alone.

















How is HIV diagnosed and treated?

A blood test is used to confirm whether a person has been infected with HIV. Anyone who has engaged in risky behavior - such as sharing drug - injecting equipment or having unprotected sexual contact with an infected person or with someone whose HIV status is unknown - should consider being tested.

There are many treatments now that can help people with HIV. As a result, many people with HIV are living much longer and healthier lives than before.

Currently, medicines can slow the growth of the virus or stop it from making copies of itself. Although these drugs don't kill the virus, they keep the amount of virus in the blood low. The amount of virus in the blood is called the viral load, and it can be measured by a test.The lower the viral load, the longer a person can stay healthy and fight off infections.

There are several types of anti-HIV drugs. Each type attacks the virus in its own way. It's similar to the way the military plans an attack using the different strengths of the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines.

SOURCES
http://www.hiv.va.gov/vahiv?page=basics-06-00
http://www.epigee.org/health/hiv_symptoms.html
http://www.ehealthmd.com/library/aids/ADS_diagnosis.html