Was Hiv Created In A Lab
No. HIV is a virus that has evolved over time and though it became a global pandemic only recently in human history, its origins are much older and found in nature.How can I tell if I’m infected with HIV?
The only way to know if you are infected is to be tested for HIV infection. You cannot rely on symptoms to know whether or not you are infected. Many people who are infected with HIV do not have any symptoms at all for 10 years or more.
The following may be warning signs of advanced HIV infection:
- rapid weight loss
- recurring fever or profuse night sweats
- profound and unexplained fatigue
What Are The Symptoms Of Hiv And Aids
Within 2 to 4 weeks after infection with HIV, some people may have flu-like symptoms, such as fever, chills, or rash. The symptoms may last for a few days to several weeks. Other possible symptoms of HIV include night sweats, muscle aches, sore throat, fatigue, swollen lymph nodes, and mouth ulcers. Having these symptoms do not mean you have HIV. Other illnesses can cause the same symptoms. Some people may not feel sick during early HIV infection . During this earliest stage of HIV infection, the virus multiplies rapidly. After the initial stage of infection, HIV continues to multiply but at very low levels.
More severe symptoms of HIV infection, such as a badly damaged immune system and signs of opportunistic infections, generally do not appear for many years until HIV has advanced to AIDS. People with AIDS have badly damaged immune systems that make them prone to opportunistic infections.
Without treatment with HIV medicines, HIV infection usually advances to AIDS in 10 years or longer, though it may advance faster in some people.
HIV transmission is possible at any stage of HIV infectioneven if a person with HIV has no symptoms of HIV.
S Of Infection Include:
- Sexual Contact. This most commonly includes unprotected vaginal and anal sex, especially rough activity that damages the delicate lining of these passages. The virus may also be passed by using unwashed sexual devices. People with a sexually transmitted disease , such as herpes or gonorrhea, generally run higher risk because these illness can cause inflammation and breast in the skin which cam make it easier for HIV to enter the body. The risk of contracting HIV increases with the number of sexual partners.
- Contaminated Needles. This is another common way of transmitting HIV. Contaminated needles include shared needles and syringes for injection drug use, and unsterilized needles use for tattooing, skin piercing or acupuncture. Healthcare workers have been contaminated HIV-infected blood.
- Mother to Child. An infected mother can transfer the virus to her baby during pregnancy or birth, or through breast-feeing.
- Blood Products or transfusions. Infection with HIV is a risk for people treated with blood products in a country where blood products are not carefully screened.
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Stage : Acute Hiv Infection
Within 2 to 4 weeks after infection with HIV, about two-thirds of people will have a flu-like illness. This is the bodys natural response to HIV infection.
Flu-like symptoms can include:
- Swollen lymph nodes
- Mouth ulcers
These symptoms can last anywhere from a few days to several weeks. But some people do not have any symptoms at all during this early stage of HIV.
Dont assume you have HIV just because you have any of these symptomsthey can be similar to those caused by other illnesses. But if you think you may have been exposed to HIV, get an HIV test.
Heres what to do:
Questions To Ask Your Doctor
- Is there any sure way to avoid acquiring HIV?
- What is the best treatment for me?
- How can I avoid getting any infections that will make me very sick?
- How can I find support groups in my community?
- What diagnostic tests will you run?
- How often will I need to see my doctor?
- Will there be any side effects to my treatment?
- How does this affect my plans for having a family?
- Is it safe for me to breastfeed my baby?
- Will using a condom keep my sex partners from acquiring HIV?
- Should I follow a special diet?
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Seven Myths About Hiv That Just Aren’t True
Myth 1. Only gay men get HIV
Gay and bisexual men are disproportionately affected by HIV, but HIV is not a gay disease.
There are thousands of heterosexual men and women living with HIV in the UK.
This means that you should be using protecting and regularly getting tested, whoever you want to get naked with.
Ignorance may feel like bliss, but HIV couldnt give a s*** about your sexual preference.
Myth 2. You can get HIV through kissing
HIV is not transmitted via every day contact.
And you cant get HIV through using the same cooking utensils as someone living with HIV.
In fact, there are only a few very specific ways through which HIV transmission can occur in the UK:
- Having sex with someone without a condom
- Sharing injecting equipment.
- In Utero or birth
- Through breastfeeding
Myth 3. You can get HIV by standing on used, discarded needles
Its quite a niche concept since youre unlikely to be trotting around barefoot with used needles scattered on the floor.
But hey, this article is about myth-busting, not judging how you spend your weekend.
Just FYI, HIV does not live outside of the body for longer than a few minutes at most.
Directly sharing needles is a transmission risk, discarded needles are not no one has ever got HIV from contact with discarded injected equipment found in public.
Myth 4. It is easy to contract HIV by having sex with someone who is HIV positive
When used properly, condoms work extremely well at preventing HIV.
You may have heard of PrEP.
Hiv Doesnt Always Produce Symptoms
HIV usually causes flu-like symptoms about two to four weeks after transmission. This short period of time is called acute infection. The immune system brings the infection under control, leading to a period of latency.
The immune system cant completely eliminate HIV, but it can control it for a long time. During this latency period, which can last for years, a person with HIV may experience no symptoms at all. Without antiretroviral therapy, however, that person may develop AIDS and as a result will experience many symptoms associated with the condition.
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What Behaviors Are The Most Risky For Getting Or Transmitting Hiv
Since there is a fairly high number of people who have HIV and dont know it, you should be tested for HIV so you know your status. Being intoxicated is risky because you are more likely to engage in risky sex if you are drunk or high. In terms of sex acts, anal sex and vaginal intercourse are the most risky behaviors.
Common Scientific Terms Related To Hiv/aids
- ELISA or Western Blot are the two common blood tests utilized to detect for HIV infection. Both tests should be conducted to confirm the diagnosis if either test reveals a positive result. A positive ELISA test indicates the presence of HIV antibodies in the blood. A Western Blot test detects HIV proteins in the blood to confirm diagnosis. If both are positive, the person can be diagnosed as HIV-positive meaning that they are infected with HIV. If negative, this indicates that HIV infection has not occurred or may be in an early stage where it cannot be detected in the blood . Repeat testing is then required after 6 weeks to 3 months. A negative test is commonly termed as being HIV negative although this is not an accurate medical term for a persons HIV status.
- ART or anti-retroviral therapy refers to the cocktail of antiviral drugs that are used in HIV infection, usually more than one type of antiretroviral . The individual drugs may be referred to as ARVs or anti-retrovirals. The use of several antiviral drugs to reduce the viral load may also be termed HAART .
- Viral load is a measure of the HIV nucleic acid present in the infected person which increases as the disease progresses over time. It gives an indication of the progression of the disease, response to therapy and prognosis. Viral load together with the CD4 count are important in monitoring HIV infection and are deciding factors for the commencement of ART before the onset of AIDS.
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Hiv Treatment As Prevention
Treatment as prevention refers to taking HIV medication to prevent the sexual transmission of HIV. It is one of the highly effective options for preventing HIV transmission. People living with HIV who take HIV medication daily as prescribed and get and keep an undetectable viral load have effectively no risk of sexually transmitting HIV to their HIV-negative partners.
TasP works when a person living with HIV takes HIV medication exactly as prescribed and has regular follow-up care, including regular viral load tests to ensure their viral load stays undetectable.
Aids Diagnosis Is More Complicated
AIDS is late stage HIV infection. Healthcare providers look for a few factors to determine if HIV latency has progressed to stage 3 HIV.
Because HIV destroys immune cells called CD4 cells, one way healthcare providers diagnose AIDS is to do a count of those cells. A person without HIV can have anywhere from 500 to 1,200 CD4 cells. When the cells have dropped to 200, a person with HIV is considered to have stage 3 HIV.
Another factor signaling that stage 3 HIV has developed is the presence of opportunistic infections. Opportunistic infections are diseases caused by viruses, fungi, or bacteria that would not make a person with an undamaged immune system sick.
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What Is Hiv And 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 attacks and destroys the infection-fighting CD4 cells of the immune system. The loss of CD4 cells makes it difficult for the body to fight off infections and certain cancers. Without treatment, HIV can gradually destroy the immune system and HIV infection advances to AIDS.
Can Hiv Be Prevented Or Avoided
The best way to prevent HIV is to not have sex with a person who has HIV, or share a needle with a person who has HIV. However, there is also a medicine called PrEP that people can take before coming into contact with HIV that can prevent them from getting an HIV infection.
PrEP stands for pre-exposure prophylaxis. It is for people who are at long-term risk of getting HIV either through sexual activity or by injecting drugs. If youre taking PrEP and come into contact with HIV, the medicine makes it difficult for HIV to develop inside your body.
Other ways to prevent HIV include:
- When you have sex, practice safer sex by using a condom. The best condom is a male latex condom. A female condom is not as effective but does offer some protection.
- Do not share needles and syringes.
- Never let someone elses blood, semen, urine, vaginal fluid, or feces get into your anus, vagina, or mouth.
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What Is The Outlook For Someone With Hiv/aids
If you are diagnosed with HIV and you start ART soon after, your immune system will not be as compromised. If you continue to take your medicines every day, your outlook is very good.
ART can keep blood levels undetectable but cannot entirely rid the body of the virus . If you do not keep up on your medication, the virus goes back into the blood.
If you have HIV and dont treat it, it can take about 10 years to lead to AIDS. If you have AIDS and dont treat it, the survival rate is about three years.
It is so important to know that people who have HIV and who follow treatment guidelines are able to live full lives for nearly as long as HIV-negative people.
How Can A Person Reduce The Risk Of Getting Hiv
To reduce your risk of HIV infection, use condoms correctly every time you have sex, limit your number of sexual partners, and never share injection drug equipment.
Also talk to your health care provider about pre-exposure prophylaxis . PrEP is an HIV prevention option for people who do not have HIV but who are at high risk of becoming infected with HIV. PrEP involves taking a specific HIV medicine every day. For more information, read the HIVinfo fact sheet on Pre-exposure Prophylaxis .
HIV medicines, given to women with HIV during pregnancy and childbirth and to their babies after birth, reduce the risk of perinatal transmission of HIV. In addition, because HIV can be transmitted through breast milk, women with HIV who live in the United States should not breastfeed their babies. Baby formula is a safe and healthy alternative to breast milk and is readily available in the United States.
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Basic Facts About Aids
- AIDS stands for acquired immune deficiency syndrome. Its also called advanced HIV infection or late-stage HIV.
- AIDS is a set of symptoms and illnesses that develop when an advanced HIV infection has destroyed the immune system.
- Fewer people develop AIDS now, as more people are on treatment for HIV and staying well.
Although there is no cure for HIV, with the right treatment and support, people living with HIV can enjoy long and healthy lives. To do this, its especially important to commit to taking treatment correctly.
How Is Hiv Spread From Person To Person
HIV can only be spread through specific activities. In the United States, the most common ways are:
- Having vaginal or anal sex with someone who has HIV without using a condom or taking medicines to prevent or treat HIV. Anal sex is riskier than vaginal sex.
- Sharing injection drug equipment , such as needles, with someone who has HIV.
Less common ways are:
- From mother to child during pregnancy, birth, or breastfeeding. However, the use of HIV medicines and other strategies have helped lower the risk of mother-to-child transmission of HIV to 1% or less in the United States.
- Getting stuck with an HIV-contaminated needle or other sharp object. This is a risk mainly for health care workers. The risk is very low.
HIV is spread only in extremely rare cases by:
- Having oral sex. But in general, the chance that an HIV-negative person will get HIV from oral sex with an HIV-positive partner is extremely low.
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How Do We Know Treatment As Prevention Works
Large research studies with newer HIV medications have shown that treatment is prevention. These studies monitored thousands of male-female and male-male couples in which one partner has HIV and the other does not over several years. No HIV transmissions were observed when the HIV-positive partner was virally suppressed. This means that if you keep your viral load undetectable, there is effectively no risk of transmitting HIV to someone you have vaginal, anal, or oral sex with. Read about the scientific evidence.
What Are The Symptoms Of Hiv/aids
The first signs of HIV infection may be flu-like symptoms:
- Swollen lymph nodes
- Mouth ulcers
These symptoms may come and go within two to four weeks. This stage is called acute HIV infection.
If the infection is not treated, it becomes chronic HIV infection. Often, there are no symptoms during this stage. If it is not treated, eventually the virus will weaken your body’s immune system. Then the infection will progress to AIDS. This is the late stage of HIV infection. With AIDS, your immune system is badly damaged. You can get more and more severe infections. These are known as opportunistic infections .
Some people may not feel sick during the earlier stages of HIV infection. So the only way to know for sure whether you have HIV is to get tested.
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Prevalence And Distribution Of Hiv/aids
According to data published by the World Health Organization , about 36.7 million people were living with HIV, approximately 1.8 million people were newly infected with HIV, and about 1 million people died of HIV-related causes in 2016. Since 1981 about 35 million people have died from HIV infection. In the early 21st century, however, the annual number of new infections began to decrease, and since about 2005 the annual number of AIDS-related deaths globally has also declined. The latter trend has been largely due to improved access to treatment for the afflicted. Thus, there has been an increase in the overall number of people living with AIDS. Nonetheless, a 2016 United Nations report on AIDS suggested that the decline in annual new infections had plateaued, and disparities in HIV incidence, AIDS-related deaths, and access to treatment were evident within countries and between regions, different age groups, and males and females.
What Does Hiv Mean For Sexual Wellness
Establishing the difference between HIV versus AIDS not only helps disperse general confusion but also fosters awareness. Understanding the debate on HIV versus AIDS highlights the importance of early testing, safer sex practices and available treatment options.
While HIV is one of the more serious STD cases, not everyone who contracts the virus will develop AIDS. Without treatment, HIV can linger without progressing to AIDS for up to a decade. With treatment, viral load can be controlled, and the immune system can be protected. Even though the topic of HIV vs AIDS might seem like a technicality, their difference means the world for keeping tabs on your sexual health and mediating misunderstandings and stigmas.
As mentioned previously, HIV is commonly asymptomatic, so getting tested is an important element to sexual health. Receiving HIV testing is the best and most reliable option to prevent the spread of HIV, avoid the condition of AIDS altogether and protect your sexual wellness.
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