Adobe Flash 8 plugin wasn't detected. Please download it
here
HIV/AIDS Progression
Overview
To understand the treatment of HIV/AIDS it is important to understand how an HIV infection develops into AIDS. The treatment of HIV/AIDS and its related illnesses is largely informed by the stage at which the HIV infection is at.
The Process of HIV Progression
After infection, the virus enters the blood and attacks the body's immune system, specifically the important T-helper cell which co-ordinates the immune system's response to infections. HIV gains entry to the T-helper cell by attaching itself to the CD4 protein on the surface of the cell. Once the HIV has gained entry, it takes over the cell and replicates, seeking new T-helper cells to infect. The infected cell dies after a couple of days.
The body's natural response to an infection is to fight infected cells and replace the cells that have been lost. But gradually HIV overwhelms the immune system, leaving the body vulnerable to infections and other diseases. The time it takes to do this varies from person to person, but averages at about seven years.
The normal range for CD4+T cells in a healthy person is 800-1200 cells per cubic millilitre of blood. When an HIV infected person's CD4+ T cell count falls below 200, he or she becomes increasingly vulnerable to opportunistic infections. In a person with a healthy immune system these infections would not normally be life-threatening but to an HIV-infected person they could be fatal.
Without treatment, the viral load, which refers to the amount of free virus in the blood, will increase to the point where the body can no longer fight it.
The progression of the virus can be measured by a CD4 test that measures the amount of CD4 or T-helper cells in your blood. The level of this CD4 is a good predictor of how you will fight infections.
The viral load test measures the amount of HIV in the blood in every millilitre of blood. A high viral load indicates that the patient is either in the first stage of infection or nearing AIDS.
HIV progression can be divided into 4 stages:
Stage
Description
Symptoms/Illnesses
Treatment
Primary HIV infection
During this stage most individuals will not be aware they are infected, and may even test HIV-negative because their body hasn't reacted to the virus and created antibodies. Symptoms normally occur within three months of infection and generally subside within two weeks.
A flu-like illness, swollen lymph nodes, diarrhoea, fever and fatigue.
Treat the infections and symptoms
Asymptomatic stage
No symptoms manifest but the virus remains active.
Symptomatic stage
Individual begins to feel unwell and experiences infections caused by bacteria and viruses that surround us all daily
