Q.13. Write short note on AIDS. (AKTU. - 2011 - 12)
Asn. AIDS: -
Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is an
epidemic that has spread all over the world. It was first recognized as a
disease in 1981 and is caused by a retrovirus called the human immunodeficiency
virus (HIV). The first actually confirmed death from HIV was in 1959, when a
man died in the Congo in Africa. This was confirmed by analyzing samples of his
blood in a recent test.
AIDS, sometimes called slim disease,
is a fatal illness in which HIV breaks down the body’s immune system, leaving
the victim vulnerable to a host of life-threatening opportunistic infections,
neurological disorders, or unusual malignancies. Thus, AIDS is not one
particular disease but a set of symptoms leading to various disorders and
infections due to damage of the immune system.
HIV has infected millions of
men, women, and children worldwide. Although treatments for AIDS are being
developed, no cure has been discovered yet. Therefore, prevention of the
infection is the- only way to control the disease.
HIV/AIDS is a transmissible
disease, transmitted in various ways from one person to other. UNAIDS suggests
that the lack of awareness among African women is the key factor which has
resulted in increased incidence of the disease in them. HIV/AIDS can be transmitted
in one of the following ways:
• If a person engages
in sexual intercourse with an infected person without using a condom, he/she
can get infected.
• A person can get
infected with the disease on sharing the needle or syringe used by an infected
person, either for injecting drugs, drawing blood, or for any other purpose
involving piercing. Instruments used for piercing and tattooing also carry a
risk of infection.
• AIDS can be
transmitted by transfusion of blood from an infected person to a healthy
individual.
• The disease may also
be transmitted if surgical devices such as syringes and scalpels, and certain
instruments, used on an infected person, are used on another person without
proper sterilization
• AIDS may also be
transmitted from an infected mother to the child during pregnancy, childbirth,
or breastfeeding.
• Theoretically, oral
sex without condom (on men) or barriers such as dental dam, vaginal dams, or
plastic wrap (on women) can also transmit the infection.
HIV/AIDS Symptoms:
-
The symptoms of AIDS result from
the development of infections that normally do not develop in people with
healthy immune systems. Many of these infections are caused by bacteria, fungi,
virus, etc. In normal people, these infections are controlled by the immune
system, but in HIV-infected persons, the immune system is rendered ineffective
and is damaged by HIV, which also affects almost all organs and may also cause
various cancers such as Kaposi’s sarcoma, cervical cancer, and lymphomas.
Infected people also develop certain opportunistic infections, which depend on
the affected organs and also the geographical location of the infected person.
The virus destroys the cells that are the primary infection fighters, called
CD4+ or T4 cells. It also kills the B cells that are responsible for producing
antibodies against an infection. Once the immune system weakens, a person
infected with HIV can develop the following health disorders:
• Lack of energy • Weight loss •
Frequent fevers and sweats •
Persistent or frequent yeast infections
• Persistent skin
rashes or flaky skin • Short-term memory loss
• Mouth, genital, or anal sores from herpes infections.
However, merely the
presence of these symptoms does not guarantee that the person is HIV positive.
AIDS is the most
advanced stage of HIV infection. AIDS refers to all HIV-infected people who
have fewer than 200 CD4+ cells per micro litre of blood. People who develop
AIDS suffer from the following disorders, although a person cannot be said to
be suffering from AIDS merely because of the presence of these disorders:
• Cough, shortness of
breath, and pneumonia
• Seizures and lack of
coordination, diseases such as toxoplasmosis, and AIDS dementia complex
• Difficult or painful
swallowing
• Mental symptoms such
as confusion and forgetfulness, severe meningitis with symptoms such as nausea,
vomiting, fever, and fatigue.
• Severe and
persistent diarrhoea, abdominal cramps, and esophagitis
• Several malignant
cancers such as Kaposi’s sarcoma, lymphomonas, etc.
• Other opportunistic
infections that may present with symptoms such as weight loss, fevers, and
fatigue, and may cause blindness and colitis.
