Respiratory And Cardiovascular Systems
HIV makes it hard to fight off respiratory problems such as the common cold and flu. In turn, an HIV-positive person may develop related infections, such as pneumonia.
Without treatment for HIV, advanced disease puts an HIV-positive person at an even greater risk for infectious complications, such as tuberculosis and a fungal infection called pneumocystis jiroveci pneumonia .
PJP causes trouble breathing, cough, and fever.
The risk of lung cancer also increases with HIV. This is due to weakened lungs from numerous respiratory issues related to a weakened immune system.
According to available research , lung cancer is more prevalent among people with HIV compared to people without it.
People with HIV are more likely to develop high blood pressure. HIV also raises the risk of pulmonary arterial hypertension . PAH is a type of high blood pressure in the arteries that supply blood to the lungs. Over time, PAH will strain the heart and can lead to heart failure.
If a person has HIV with a low CD4 count, theyre also more susceptible to tuberculosis .
TB is an airborne bacterium that affects the lungs. Its a leading cause of death in people who have AIDS. Symptoms include chest pain and a bad cough that may contain blood or phlegm. The cough can linger for months.
Exploration Of Hiv Essay
Exploration of HIV HIV infection is a worldwide outbreak a deadly disease affecting people everywhere. The spread of HIV infection has occurred on such a scale, and the impact of the disease is potentially so devastating to world health, that only a concerted, global response is appropriate. What is HIV? The human immunodeficiency virus is an organism known as a retrovirus. Like any virus, HIV must use the cells of another organism its host to survive
How Does Acute Hiv Affect The Body
Once a person contracts HIV, the acute infection takes place immediately.
Symptoms of the acute infection may take place days to weeks after the virus has been contracted. During this time, the virus is multiplying rapidly in the body, unchecked.
This initial HIV stage can result in flu-like symptoms. Examples of these symptoms include:
- myalgias, or muscle pain
However, not all people with HIV experience initial flu-like symptoms.
The flu symptoms are due to the increase of copies of HIV and widespread infection in the body. During this time, the amount of CD4 cells starts to fall very quickly. The immune system then kicks in, causing CD4 levels to rise once again. However, the CD4 levels may not return to their pre-HIV height.
In addition to potentially causing symptoms, the acute stage is when people with HIV have the greatest chance of transmitting the virus to others. This is because HIV levels are very high at this time. The acute stage typically lasts between several weeks and months.
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Definition Of Exclusion Criteria
Blood donor eligibility is regulated by the Guidelines on the Collection of Blood and Blood Components and on Use of Blood Products . Criteria are defined for the permanent or temporary deferral from donation with respect to the transmission of HIV. Permanently deferred from donation are the following:
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Persons with a confirmed HIV infection.
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Persons with non-prescribed IV or IM drug use.
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Persons whose sexual behaviour puts them at high risk of acquiring severe infectious diseases like HBV, HCV or HIV that can be transmitted by blood:
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heterosexual persons with high-risk sexual behaviour, i.e. sexual contacts with multiple sex partners,
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men who have sexual contacts with men
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male and female sex workers.
Temporary deferral from donating blood is valid for persons:
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who entered Germany from a country or a region, where they had been continuously resident for more than 6 months, with a comparatively high prevalence of HBV, HCV, HIV or HTLV-1/-2 infections,
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who had sexual contacts with persons belonging to a group with an enhanced risk of infection with HBV, HCV, HIV and/or HTLV-1/-2 ,
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with tattoos or body piercing.
Hiv And The Immune System
Human Immunodeficiency Virus is a virus that attacks and destroys the bodys T lymphocytes. The reduction in the number of T lymphocytes in the body due to HIV can then lead to the development of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome .
Individuals with AIDS have a weakened immune system and so are more vulnerable to opportunistic infections.
Without immunity, infection by microorganisms, such as those that cause tuberculosis
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Treatment Of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Essay
Human immunodeficiency virus is a blood-borne virus typically transmitted via sexual intercourse, shared intravenous drug paraphernalia, and mother-to-child transmission , which can occur during the birth processor during breastfeeding. There is no cure for HIV or AIDS but over time different types of medications have been developed that slows down the advancement of the disease. AIDS is a lethal disease that is caused by HIV. HIV destroys the immune system and causes the body to not be
The Problem Of Hiv / Aids
When we started this project, we wanted to see how much the average high school student knew about HIV/AIDS- ourselves having minimal knowledge of the disease. In order to do so, we created a quiz and charted the results. After reviewing the results of the quiz, we realized that this ISP is giving us the platform to inform and enlighten ourselves and others of this serious global phenomenon. The quiz consisted of basic questions regarding HIV/AIDS and the ratio of correct to incorrect answers was
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Why Is Hiv So Evasive What Is The Hiv Reservoir
Although HIV can be controlled by antiretroviral therapy, it cannot be eliminated from the body. This is because HIV evades the normal immune system mechanisms for getting rid of cells infected by viruses.
HIV integrates itself into the DNA of human immune system cells and only replicates when the cell is stimulated to respond to an infection. These cells are called latently-infected cells. These cells are not recognised as infected by the immune system and killed off, allowing them to persist for as long as the cell lives.17
Some of the cells infected by HIV are very long-lasting memory T-cells. Reservoirs of latently- infected cells become established in the lymph nodes, the spleen and the gut. HIV also infects cells in the brain, but it is unclear if HIV can pass from the brain to other parts of the body. HIV may also persist for many years in macrophages immune cells found largely in tissues and in dendritic cells, which recognise infectious agents and alert other immune cells to remove them.
Latently-infected cells can proliferate without being activated and HIV may also pass from cell to cell within tissues in the gut and other reservoirs. 18 This means they evade the immune system and are not suppressed by antiretroviral drugs before infecting other cells.
What Role Do Cd4 T
HIV destroys CD4 T-cells, which are white blood cells that help the body fight off infection. The more CD4 T-cells the virus kills, the weaker an HIV-positive persons immune system grows. Medical providers make an AIDS diagnosis when the number of CD4 T-cells in an individuals blood falls too low.
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Hiv Effects On The Skin
Many people get a skin rash in the first stage of an HIV infection. It usually goes away without treatment in days or weeks. Over time, a number of things might cause more rashes. Itâs always important to let your doctor know about a rash, because it might be a sign of a serious problem, or an HIV medication could be causing it.
People who have HIV are more likely to get viral infections. Herpes zoster, herpes simplex, and Molluscum contagiosum can cause rashes or blisters.
Kaposiâs sarcoma causes lesions, patches, or nodules that are a different color from your skin. Sometimes, you can also get lesions on your internal organs. These may be life-threatening.
How Is Hiv Treated
Treatments for HIV typically involve antiretroviral therapy. This isnt a specific regimen, but instead a combination of three or four drugs. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has currently approved nearly 50 different medications to treat HIV.
Antiretroviral therapy works to prevent the virus from copying itself. This maintains immunity levels while slowing the progression of HIV.
Before prescribing medication, a healthcare provider will take the following factors into consideration:
- a persons health history
- the levels of the virus in the blood
HIV doesnt cause a lot of outward or noticeable symptoms until the disease has progressed. For this reason, its important to understand how HIV is transmitted and the ways to prevent transmission.
HIV can be transmitted by:
- having sex, including oral, vaginal, and anal sex
- sharing needles, including tattoo needles, needles used for body piercing, and needles used for injecting drugs
- coming into contact with body fluids, such as semen, vaginal fluid, blood, and breast milk
HIV is not transmitted by:
- breathing the same air as a person living with HIV
- getting bitten by a mosquito or other biting insect
- hugging, holding hands with, kissing, or touching a person living with HIV
- touching a door handle or toilet seat thats been used by an HIV-positive person
Keeping this in mind, some of the ways a person can prevent HIV include:
Symptoms can take years to appear, which is why its so important to get tested regularly.
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Feasibility And Validation Of Procedures For Removal/ Inactivation Of The Infectious Agent
Validation of the various removal and inactivation steps must be carried out following the actual production processes using HIV . HIV can be propagated to sufficient amounts in cell culture, enabling the spiking of the different source materials under laboratory conditions. Individual steps have to be investigated mimicking the different production processes with regard to their virus removal or inactivation capacity by determining the infectious titres at the start and the end of each production step. Because HIV-1 and HIV-2 are considered to have identical inactivation characteristics, it is sufficient to use HIV-1 for the validation of an inactivation method. Although HIV-1 and SIVmac239 2) show similar properties in inactivation experiments , the use of SIV is not accepted.
Insights Into How Hiv Evades Immune System
New details about how antibodies bind the human immunodeficiency virus may help bring researchers closer to creating an effective HIV vaccine.
Vaccines typically work by triggering the immune system to produce antibodies that help to beat infections. But most antibodies can’t latch onto and neutralize HIV. The proteins on the surface of the virus mutate rapidly and change shape continuously. They’re also covered with immune-evading carbohydrates called glycans.
NIH scientists recently focused on one of these HIV surface proteins, called gp120. HIV uses what are called envelope spikes, or trimers, to bind and infect cells. These spikes support three gp120 molecules, which HIV uses to grip and to gain entry into the cells it infects.
Researchers had a major breakthrough in 2007 when they identified an unchanging region of gp120 as a potential site of viral weakness. Further studies, however, found that the vast majority of antibodies that bound to this site don’t block HIV from infecting cells. Dr. Peter D. Kwong at the Vaccine Research Center of NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases headed a research team investigating how the virus resists these antibodies.
Kwong points out that people with HIV can generate antibodies to this sitein fact, that’s how it was discovered in the first place. We just haven’t yet learned how to do that by vaccination, he says, but we’re working on it.
by Harrison Wein, Ph.D.
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Donor Testing And Significance
In Germany, both HIV antibody and HIV NAT testing are mandatory.
2.3.1 HIV Antibody Testing
Initial testing of a donation is carried out with antibody screening test systems approved in Europe according to the German Medicinal Products Act in connection with the In Vitro Diagnostics Directive . Tests used in Germany recognise antibodies to all known HIV-1 groups and HIV-2. Reactive screening test results must be followed by a serologic confirmation test or a NAT assay. An additional second blood sample has to be investigated for confirmation of an HIV infection . Until the results are clarified, the donation is separated and should be preserved for additional investigations. The donor is deferred until the final results are available . According to current knowledge, the vast majority of reactive HIV antibody screening test results of blood donors are non-specific, i.e. false-positive, and have other causes, e.g., immune complexes in the specimen .
2.3.2 Detecting HIV RNA by NAT
The diagnostic window period, which is between 3 and 6 weeks for antibody screening tests, can be shortened by application of NAT. Depending on the level of viraemia, the sensitivity of the assay used and the infecting HIV, an infection can be detected as early as about 11 days post infection . The HIV NAT enables sensitive detection also of non-HIV-1 M:B. Reference materials for the detection of different HIV-1 genotypes are available .
Cost-Benefit Calculation
Innate Immune Response To Hiv
Innate immune cells are the first line of defence which HIV encounters upon entry to the body.
Macrophages. Tissue macrophages are one of the target cells for HIV. These macrophages harbour the virus and are known to be the source of viral proteins. However, the infected macrophages are shown to lose their ability to ingest and kill foreign microbes and present antigen to T cells. This could have a major contribution in overall immune dysfunction caused by HIV infection.
Dendritic cells . DCs are large cells with dendritic cytoplasmic extensions. These cells present processed antigens to T lymphocytes in lymph nodes. Epidermal DCs, expressing CD1a and Birbeck granules, are probably among the first immune cells to combat HIV at the mucosal surfaces. These cells transport HIV from the site of infection to lymphoid tissue. The follicular DCs, found in lymphoid tissue, are also key antigen-presenting cells that trap and present antigens on their cell surfaces. In the lymph node follicles, DCs provide signals for the activation of B lymphocytes.
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How Hiv Suppresses The Immune System
To understand how HIV damages the immune system, we have to dive into some pretty scientific concepts.
The genetic makeup of an HIV viral cell has genetic material called RNA which helps it to reproduce more cells. For HIV cells to replicate, they need to latch onto healthy white blood cells called T cells. These cells contain certain proteins which HIV needs to duplicate itself and grow.
Your bodys immune system produces T cells to fight off infections but when an HIV cell takes hold, it will destroy the T cell to reproduce.
So, when a person is exposed to HIV, these cells will start to slowly reproduce in the body. The immune system will naturally pump out more T cells to try and fight off the virus but these cells will be destroyed by the HIV cells.
Eventually, this will leave the bodys immune system overwhelmed and totally defenseless to any disease. Once the bodys immune system is significantly weakened, then they may be diagnosed with AIDS, which stands for Acquired Immuno-Deficiency Syndrome. This progression of HIV to AIDS;occurs over 5 to 10 years;if the person does not receive any treatment.
Hiv Effects On The Digestive System
More than half of people who have AIDS report digestive symptoms as the virus or an opportunistic infection targets the walls of their intestines. Diarrhea is the most common one. Over time, the virus can change how your digestive tract works and even how it looks.
Liver
Some HIV medications can damage your liver. Many people with HIV also have a form of inflammation called hepatitis.
Limit how much alcohol you drink, and don’t use recreational drugs. Having diabetes, high cholesterol, or triglycerides and being overweight can lead to fatty liver disease, so keep an eye on the carbs, fats, and calories you eat each day.
Talk to your doctor about getting the hepatitis A and hepatitis B vaccines. Thereâs no vaccine against hepatitis C, but you should get tested for it.
Get regular blood tests to catch any liver problems early.
Mouth
Your mouth might be one of the first places where you notice signs of HIV. Things like dry mouth, fungal infections, gum disease, cold sores, and canker sores can make chewing or swallowing painful. If they go on too long, you might not be able to take your HIV medication or get the nutrients you need.
Good dental habits can help prevent these issues, so brush and floss regularly. See your dentist for checkups, and tell them if youâre having problems. Most mouth conditions tied to HIV are treatable.
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Study Identifies How Suppressed Hiv Keeps Immune System On Edge
By Brandon Levy
Tuesday, April 27, 2021
HIV needs to activate immune cells like this one to infect them. New IRP research identified how the virus continues to stimulate the immune system even when fully suppressed by antiretroviral therapy.
Over the four decades since it mysteriously began destroying the immune systems of Americans in New York and California, HIV has proven to be a frustratingly wily opponent for scientists. Even today, when treatments can fully suppress the virus in infected individuals, it continues to harm their health. A new IRP study has identified several ways dormant HIV might chronically stimulate the immune system, suggesting potential avenues for preventing the health problems that causes.1
Doctors have been using antiretroviral therapy to treat HIV for more than 30 years, forcing the virus into an inactive state in the body and turning what was once a death sentence into a manageable, chronic condition. However, over that long time period, they began to notice that people living with successfully suppressed HIV infections were developing age-related ailments like cardiovascular and kidney disease and neurological problems noticeably earlier in life than the general population.
Antiretroviral drugs like these can completely stop HIV from replicating in the human body, but do not stop the dormant virus from activating the immune system.
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