Archive for category HIV/AIDS
HIV/AIDS Facts
Posted by in HIV/AIDS on July 1, 2011
As per the WHO reports, every year nearly 2 million people die due to AIDS and there have been nearly 27 million deaths, till date in the world, due to this travesty of humanity. There has been no other infectious killer in human society worst than AIDS. Middle and low income countries have suffered the worst, especially the African and Asian countries.
HIV AIDS statistics are mind boggling, thought provoking and certainly scary. While more than 90% of AIDS cases have been observed in the developing world, the developed world is not untouched by the increasing incidences of AIDS.
In November 2010, UNAIDS published its global epidemic AIDS report and estimated that nearly 33.3 million people were living with AIDS infection in 2009. Amongst the 33.3 million adults suffering from AIDS, nearly 50% of them were women.
Knowing about HIV statistics is just a way to know more about the geographical distribution of this disease so that the affected countries can be helped in a more profound way. Just figuring out the number of people suffering from AIDS infections in the world is one of the most depressing and yet eye opening HIV AIDS facts. While we know that millions are affected from HIV virus, let us know some crucial facts related to HIV infection.
Facts About HIV/AIDS
Going through the history of HIV/AIDS will reveal to you that it was in the year 1981, the Central Disease Control, US identified five cases of HIV in US, amongst homosexual males. While this was just a beginning of AIDS cases in US, AIDS was already proving to be the nemesis for many in the African continent.
Is HIV AIDS Just Like A Normal Virus; What is HIV/AIDS, exactly?
HIV is the acronym for Human Immunodeficiency Virus and just like cold or flu viruses, it affects us, causing hosts of medical issues. The classic difference; however, between a common cold virus and HIV is that, our body has no mechanism to fight the HIV AIDS infection. A common cold virus is killed by our immune system within few days time or after proper medication. However, HIV infection erodes the immune system’s ability to fight with any external viruses. HIV can remain dormant in the body for a long time, before it strikes badly destroying the major players of the immune system, namely T-cells and CD4 cells. These cells are responsible for fighting against viruses and various types of infection that can attack our body. When these cells are damaged, our immune system becomes weak and hence vulnerable to even small viruses. When this happens, HIV infection leads to AIDS, that is the acronym for Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome. Medical experts believe that HIV infection was transferred from Chimpanzees in western Africa to humans a couple of centuries ago. Humans are believed to have contracted HIV virus after they ate infected animal meat. The striking difference between HIV and AIDS is self explanatory. HIV is the virus that infects the body and AIDS is the name of the disease. AIDS is more appropriately defined to be the most advanced stage of HIV infection wherein 20 or more infections have infected the body. It is the complete deterioration of the immune system. Read the rest of this entry »
Types of HIV Tests
Posted by in HIV/AIDS on July 1, 2011
Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is a deadly virus that is well-known for its adverse effect on the body’s immune system. This virus spreads through sexual contact with an infected person. HIV could also get transmitted through transfusion of blood that is contaminated with this virus or use of infected syringes. This virus can also get transmitted from a pregnant woman to her unborn child. Once this virus enters the body, it targets the immune system, thereby making one highly susceptible to infections and diseases. The immune system of the body comprises of specialized cells and structures that respond to the presence of disease-causing agents or anything that it perceived as foreign. In the first stage of this infection, the immune system detects the presence of this virus, and responds by producing antibodies. The development of HIV antibodies is medically referred to as seroconversion. Unless the process of seroconversion is over, an infected person would not test positive for HIV. These days, various types of HIV tests are being used for diagnosing this serious disease. Here’s some information on HIV testing.
Different Types of HIV Tests
As mentioned earlier, detection of HIV antibodies is one of the commonly used methods for detecting the presence of this virus. While blood samples are mostly used for HIV testing, at times, the pathologist may take urine or oral fluid samples for the same purpose. Scroll down if you wish to know more about the HIV tests that are commonly used as diagnostic tools.
Antibody Tests: More often than not, individuals infected with HIV, develop antibodies within three to four months, however, for some people, the process of seroconversion may last longer. It is therefore essential, that antibody tests are conducted at regular intervals. Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) is one such HIV screening test that is commonly conducted for the detection of antibodies. The pathologist may collect blood, urine or oral fluid samples. In this test, HIV antigens are coated on the ELISA plate and the patient’s blood is then added. If the patient’s serum contains the antibodies, these will bind to the antigens. The next step involves washing or rinsing the plate to get rid of any other particles that may be present on the plate. A secondary antibody which is linked to an enzyme is then added to the plate. When the substrate for the enzyme is added, the reaction between the substrate and enzyme would cause a change in the color if the blood sample contains the virus. Rapid HIV testing is another HIV test, wherein the results are available within 10 to 20 minutes. OraQuick Advanced Rapid HIV-1/2 Antibody Test, Reveal G2 HIV-1 Antibody Test and Multispot HIV-1/2 are some of the tests that are categorized under rapid HIV testing. If one tests positive, then confirmatory tests such as Western blot test or Indirect Fluorescent Antibody (IFA) test may also be conducted.
Antigen Test: An antigen is a substance that react with an antibody and trigger an immune response. In case of HIV, p24 protein, which is a protein and is present in the core of this virus, acts as the antigen. Though antibody tests are more commonly used for the diagnosis of HIV infection, doctors may order a p24 antigen test. While antibody test results can provide accurate results only after the seroconversion process is complete, p24 antigen test may help in the diagnosis. However, it must be conducted in the first few weeks after one may have been infected. The levels of p24 antigen increase in the couple of weeks after one has been exposed to this virus, and only during this time, the patient’s serum can be tested for checking the levels of p24 antigen. This test involves mixing monoclonal antibodies that are specific to this protein to the blood sample. If p24 protein in present in the sample, it will bind to the antibody. Adding an enzyme-linked antibody to the monoclonal antibodies would bring about a color change. Read the rest of this entry »