HIV/AIDS IN NORTH AMERICA-INFO

What is HIV/AIDS?

HIV stands for human immunodeficiency virus, which is the virus that causes HIV infection. The abbreviation “HIV” can refer to the virus or to HIV infection. 

AIDS stands for acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. AIDS is the most advanced stage of HIV infection.

HIV assaults and devastates the disease battling CD4 cells of the insusceptible framework. The loss of CD4 cells makes it troublesome for the body to battle diseases and certain malignancies. Without treatment, HIV can bit by bit devastate the safe framework and progress to AIDS.

How is HIV spread?

HIV is spread through contact with certain body fluids from a person with HIV. These body fluids include:

• Blood
• Semen
• Pre-seminal fluid
• Vaginal fluids
• Rectal fluids
• Breast milk

The spread of HIV from individual to individual is called HIV transmission. The spread of HIV from a lady with HIV to her kid amid pregnancy, labor, or breastfeeding is called mother-to-kid transmission of HIV. 

HIV transmission is possible at any stage of HIV infection—even if a person with HIV has no symptoms of HIV.

In the United States, HIV is spread essentially by engaging in sexual relations with or sharing medication infusion hardware with somebody who has HIV. To diminish your danger of HIV contamination, utilize condoms accurately and reliably amid sex, constrain your number of sexual accomplices, and never share medicate infusion hardware. 

Mother-to-kid transmission is the most widely recognized way that youngsters end up contaminated with HIV. HIV pharmaceuticals, given to ladies with HIV amid pregnancy and labor and to their infants after birth, decrease the danger of mother-to-kid transmission of HIV. 

You can't get HIV by shaking hands or embracing a man who has HIV. You additionally can't get HIV from contact with articles, for example, dishes, can seats, or doorknobs utilized by a man with HIV. HIV does not spread through the air or through mosquito, tick, or other creepy crawly nibbles.

What is the treatment for HIV?

Antiretroviral therapy (ART) is the use of HIV medicines to treat HIV infection. People on ART take a combination of HIV medicines (called an HIV regimen) every day. (HIV medicines are often called antiretrovirals or ARVs.) 

ART prevents HIV from multiplying and reduces the amount of HIV in the body. Having less HIV in the body protects the immune system and prevents HIV infection from advancing to AIDS. 

ART can’t cure HIV, but it can help people with HIV live longer, healthier lives. ART also reduces the risk of HIV transmission.

What are the symptoms of HIV/AIDS?

Inside 2 to a month after a man winds up tainted with HIV, they may have influenza like manifestations, for example, fever, chills, or rash. The indications may keep going for fourteen days after they wind up tainted. 

After this soonest phase of HIV disease, HIV keeps on increasing yet at low levels. More serious indications of HIV contamination, for example, indications of sharp diseases, for the most part don't show up for a long time. (Crafty diseases are contaminations and contamination related growths that happen all the more every now and again or are more extreme in individuals with debilitated resistant frameworks than in individuals with sound invulnerable frameworks.) 

How is AIDS diagnosed?

The following criteria are used to determine if a person with HIV has AIDS:

•  The person’s immune system is severely damaged, as indicated by a CD4 count of less than 200 cells/mm3. A CD4 count measures the number of CD4 cells in a sample of blood. The CD4 count of a healthy person ranges from 500 to 1,600 cells/mm3.
  AND/OR
• The person has developed certain opportunistic infections.
• 
  

Without treatment with HIV pharmaceuticals, HIV disease generally advances to AIDS in 10 years or more, however it might set aside less time for a few people.