WHAT IS HIV?

HIV stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus. To understand what that means, lets break it down:
H Human This particular virus can only infect human beings.
I Immunodeficiency HIV weakens your immune system by destroying important cells that fight
disease and infection. A "deficient" immune system can't protect you.
V Virus A virus can only reproduce itself by taking over a cell in the body of its host.
HIV is a lot like other viruses, including those that cause the "flu" or the common cold. But there is an
important difference over time, your immune system can clear most viruses out of your body. That
isn't the case with HIV the human immune system can't seem to get rid of it. That means that once
you have HIV, you have it for life.
HOW DOES YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM WORK?
Your immune system works because your body is able to recognize "self" and "non-self." This means
that your body is able to tell if an invader (virus, bacteria, parasite, or other another person's tissues)
has entered iteven if you aren't consciously aware that anything has happened. Your body recognizes
this invader and uses a number of different tactics to destroy it.
Lymph nodes (also called "lymph glands"): These small, bean-shaped structures are part of your
lymphatic system. That system is made up of tissues and organs (bone marrow, spleen, thymus, and
lymph nodes) that produce and store cells that fight infection and disease, along with the clear fluid,
lymph, that carries those cells to different parts of the body. Lymph nodes filter the lymphatic fluid and
store special cells that can trap cancer cells or bacteria that are traveling through your body in the lymph
fluid. Lymph nodes are critical for your body's immune response and many of your immune reactions
begin there. When you have an infection, your lymph nodes can get larger and feel tender or sore.
Thymus: A small organ located just behind your breastbone. This is where your T-cells mature (That's
why they are called T-cells. The "T" is for "thymus.")
Spleen: The largest lymphatic organ in the bodyit's about the size of your fist. Your spleen is located in
the upper-left part of your abdomen. It contains white blood cells that fight infection or disease. Your
spleen also helps control the amount of blood in your body and destroys old and damaged blood cells.
Bone Marrow: The yellow tissue in the center of your bones that is responsible for making white blood
cells that are destined to become lymphocytes.
Lymphocytes: A small white blood cell that plays a large role in defending the body against disease.
There are two main types of lymphocytes: B-cells and T-cells. B-cells make antibodies that attack
bacteria and toxins. T-cells help destroy infected or cancerous cells attack body cells themselves when
they have been taken over by viruses or have become cancerous.
Our has body its defense and it is called immune system it protects us from foreign germs and
infections. Our skin is like a strong wall that protects us from many attacking germs. Our immune
system has CD4 T-cells maintains order in our body to keep us healthy and fit. It commands our immune
system to kill different foreign attackers. One type of common attacker is a virus. One of the deadliest
virus in the world is HIV. HIV cannot survive in the air like some other viruses. HIV is very powerful and
dangerous if it enters your body. This virus is deadly because it is able to attack the T-cells and kill them.
HIV starts multiplying and takes over the body. This is when a person is HIV positive. Without the t-cells
our immune system doesnt know what to do and are unable to fight against foreign attackers. HIV
destroys so many tcells in the body that the immune system finally collapse the person is said to have
AIDS. AIDS patient is so vulnerable to infection that even a very weak germ can cause serious infection
or death. THE IMMUNE SYSTEM IN ACTION
Your immune system has many different ways of fighting off foreign invaders. When confronted with a
virus, your body responds by activating specific processes of the immune system. First your body
recognizes a foreign antigen and delivers it to the lymph system, where it is ingested by a macrophage.
Then the macrophage processes the virus and displays the antigens for that particular virus on its own
exterior. This antigen then signals a helper T- cell.
Next the T-cell reads this signal and sounds the alarm for other parts of your immune system to respond.
The B-cell responds to this call and comes to read the antigen from the surface of the macrophage.
The B cell then becomes activated and produces millions of antibodies that are specific to the antigen.
These antibodies are released into your body to attach to the virus particles.
These antibodies are important because the invading virus may outnumber your own immune system
cells. The antibodies attach to the antigens and hold on tight.
These antibodies then send a signal to other macrophages and other immune cells to come and engulf
and destroy the antibody and whatever it has captured.
The final stage of your immune response involves the suppressor T-cell. Once the number of invaders
has dropped significantly and the infection has resolved, the suppressor T-cell will signal the other cells
of the immune system to rest. This is important as prolonged activation of your immune response could
eventually lead to damage to your healthy cells.

How can you get HIV?
It is very important to know how can we get HIV.
HIV is not airborne nor droplet you cannot catch it from the air like cold and cough. You cannot catch it
from food, water or from animals. It can only survive and travel through certain human body fluids. All
humans have body fluids for example tears, what else? sweat, salive. The virus can only be pass by 3
body fluids blood, breastmilk, and sexual fluids.
EARLY STAGE OF HIV: SYMPTOMS
Within 2-4 weeks after HIV infection, many, but not all, people experience flu-like symptoms, often
described as the worst flu ever. This is called acute retroviral syndrome (ARS) or primary HIV
infection, and its the bodys natural response to the HIV infection.
Symptoms can include:
Fever (this is the most common symptom)
Swollen glands
Sore throat
Rash
Fatigue
Muscle and joint aches and pains
Headache
These symptoms can last anywhere from a few days to several weeks. However, you should not assume
you have HIV if you have any of these symptoms. Each of these symptoms can be caused by other
illnesses. Conversely, not everyone who is infected with HIV develops ARS. Many people who are
infected with HIV do not have any symptoms at all for 10 years or more.
You cannot rely on symptoms to know whether you have HIV. The only way to know for sure if you are
infected with HIV is to get tested.
PROGRESSION TO AIDS: SYMPTOMS
If you have HIV and you are not taking HIV medication (antiretroviral therapy), eventually the HIV virus
will weaken your bodys immune system. The onset of symptoms signals the transition from the clinical
latency stage to AIDS (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome).
During this late stage of HIV infection, people infected with HIV may have the following symptoms:
Rapid weight loss
Recurring fever or profuse night sweats
Extreme and unexplained tiredness
Prolonged swelling of the lymph glands in the armpits, groin, or neck
Diarrhea that lasts for more than a week
Sores of the mouth, anus, or genitals
Pneumonia
Red, brown, pink, or purplish blotches on or under the skin or inside the mouth, nose, or eyelids
Memory loss, depression, and other neurologic disorders.
Each of these symptoms can be related to other illnesses. So, as noted above, the only way to know for
sure if you are infected with HIV is to get tested.
Antibody tests
HIV antibody tests are specifically designed for routine diagnostic testing of adults; these tests are
inexpensive and extremely accurate.

Window period
Antibody tests may give false negative (no antibodies were detected despite the presence of HIV) results
during the window period, an interval of three weeks to six months between the time of HIV infection
and the production of measurable antibodies to HIV seroconversion. Most people develop detectable
antibodies approximately 30 days after infection, although some seroconvert later. The vast majority of
people (97%) have detectable antibodies by three months after HIV infection; a six-month window is
extremely rare with modern antibody testing.[13] During the window period, an infected person can
transmit HIV to others although their HIV infection may not be detectable with an antibody test.
Antiretroviral therapy during the window period can delay the formation of antibodies and extend the
window period beyond 12 months.[14] This was not the case with patients that underwent treatment
with post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP). Those patients must take ELISA tests at various intervals after the
usual 28 day course of treatment, sometimes extending outside of the conservative window period of 6
months. Antibody tests may also yield false negative results in patients with X-linked
agammaglobulinemia; other diagnostic tests should be used in such patients.

Three instances of delayed HIV seroconversion occurring in health-care workers have been
reported;[15] in these instances, the health-care workers[16] tested negative for HIV antibodies greater
than 6 months postexposure but were seropositive within 12 months after the exposure.[17] DNA
sequencing confirmed the source of infection in one instance. Two of the delayed seroconversions were
associated with simultaneous exposure to hepatitis C virus (HCV). In one case, co-infection was
associated with a rapidly fatal HCV disease course; however, it is not known whether HCV directly
influences the risk for or course of HIV infection or is a marker for other exposure-related factors.

ELISA
The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), or enzyme immunoassay (EIA), was the first screening
test commonly employed for HIV. It has a high sensitivity.

In an ELISA test, a person's serum is diluted 400-fold and applied to a plate to which HIV antigens have
been attached. If antibodies to HIV are present in the serum, they may bind to these HIV antigens. The
plate is then washed to remove all other components of the serum. A specially prepared "secondary
antibody" an antibody that binds to human antibodies is then applied to the plate, followed by
another wash. This secondary antibody is chemically linked in advance to an enzyme. Thus the plate will
contain enzyme in proportion to the amount of secondary antibody bound to the plate. A substrate for
the enzyme is applied, and catalysis by the enzyme leads to a change in color or fluorescence. ELISA
results are reported as a number; the most controversial aspect of this test is determining the "cut-off"
point between a positive and negative result.
Western blot

Western blot test results. The first two strips are a negative and a positive control, respectively. The
others are actual tests.
Like the ELISA procedure, the western blot is an antibody detection test. However, unlike the ELISA
method, the viral proteins are separated first and immobilized. In subsequent steps, the binding of
serum antibodies to specific HIV proteins is visualized.