What is HIV?

Key Points:

• The virus known as HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) targets the immune system of the body.
• HIV can cause AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) if it is not treated for a long period of time.
• There isn’t a medical treatment that works right now.
• People who are affected by HIV are permanently infected.
• HIV can be treated with the right medicines. When receiving effective HIV treatment, people with HIV can live long, healthy lives and preserve their partners.
• HIV disease in humans is through a particular chimpanzee species in Central Africa.
• According to the research report, the HIV virus may have spread from chimpanzees to people as early as the late 1800s.
• Known as simian immunodeficiency virus, the virus infects chimpanzees. It most likely spread to people when they killed these chimpanzees for food and came into touch with their contaminated blood.
• Over many years, HIV gradually spread throughout Africa and then to other parts of the world. Since at least the middle to late 1970s, the virus has been present in the US.

Overview:

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is the primary cause of the chronic, possibly deadly illness known as acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). HIV weak the capacity of your body to fight against disease and infection by weakening your immune system.

Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) include HIV. Additionally, it can be spread through sharing needles, injecting illegal substances, and coming into contact with infected blood. Moreover, the virus can be passed from mother to child while she is pregnant, giving birth, or nursing. If the disease is not treated for a long period of time, it can take years for HIV to progressively restore your immune system to the point where you develop AIDS.

HIV/AIDS has no defined treatment, however, drugs help to treat the infection and stop the progression of disease furthermore. International organizations are aiming to promote the accessibility of prevention strategies and treatment in resource-poor nations. Antiviral medical treatment for HIV has decreased AIDS fatalities globally.

Symptoms:

Approximately 2 to 4 weeks after the HIV virus affects the human body, some HIV-positive patients show flu-like symptoms.

Symptoms and signs are including:

• Fever
• Headache
• Muscle aches and joint pain
• Rash
• Sore throat and painful mouth sores
• Swollen lymph glands
• Diarrhea
• Weight loss
• Cough
• Night sweats

You might not even be experiencing these signs and symptoms because these can be so minor. During the initial infection stage rather than the next stage, the virus spreads more readily from one person to another.