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HIV is caused by a virus - Human immunodefiency virus.

It is a RNA virus/retrovirus

•HIV infects cells of the immune system, called

helper T cells

• This destroys helper T cells / cause their no.

to decrease

• Body is unable to defend itself against

infection

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• It is transmitted through direct exchange of body fluids

• Virus is unable to survive out the human body

• Semen, vaginal fluids during unprotected sexual intercourse

• Blood transmission via infected blood transfusion / contaminated

syringes

• Mother to baby transmission across placenta / breast milk

• and also having multiple sex partners allows virus to spread more widely

• Anal intercourse increases risk of transmission

• This is because there is less natural lubrication in the rectum, so rectal lining is

easily damaged and virus can pass from semen into blood

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•Shaking hands or hugging a person who has HIV

•Contact with objects, such as dishes, toilet seats, or doorknobs, used by a person with HIV

•The air or water

•Mosquitoes, ticks, or other insects

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Flu-like symptoms and then symptomless

(since virus can stay dormant for years)

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Opportunistic infections can occur as

result of a compromised

immune system

• Collection of opportunistic

diseases associated with

immunodeficiency caused by HIV =

AIDS

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Opportunistic infections:

• oral thrush

• pneumonia

• cancers like Kaposi's

sarcoma

• neurogenerative

diseases like dementia

• tuberculosis (TB)

• malaria

• malnutrition

• weight loss

• diarrhoea

• fever

• sweating

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No cure 🤕😭😭😭

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Yes!

• Drug therapy can only slow down the onset of AIDS.

– Zidovudine (similar to the nucleotide base that contains

Thymine) binds to viral enzyme reverse transcriptase and

inhibits it

– Drugs can target viral protease and inhibit it as well

– However, drugs are expensive and have a variety of side effects

• Combination therapy

– Must follow a strict pattern and timing of medication

– If not followed properly, patients may develop strains of HIV

resistant to drugs.

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Prevention is better than cure! (No cure tho 🤕)

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Prevention is better than cure! (No cure tho 🤕)

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No vaccine

• Use of condoms, femidoms and dental dams

• HIV testing promoted in high-risk groups (e.g. male

homosexuals, prostitutes, injecting drug users, sex

partners)

• Contact tracing = where the person with HIV traces people he/she has put

at risk of infection and that person to provided a HIV test

• Discourage needle sharing

•Donated blood is screened for HIV and heat-treated to kill viruses

• Control mother-to-child transmission using drugs

• HIV+ women of high income countries should avoid breastfeeding to

reduce transmission

– BUT HIV+ women of low/middle income countries advised to

breastfeed bcs milk provides protection against other

diseases and lack of clean water outweigh the risk of transmitting HIV

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Pandemic in whole world

• But especially high numbers/high prevalence in Africa