How HIV Attacks the Immune System

HIV stands for human immunodeficiency virus, which can lead to AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome). This is a virus that, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), that spreads through a person's body and attacks certain specific cells, called "CD4" of "T" cells. If the virus spreads sufficiently throughout the body then it becomes very difficult for the body to fight off infections -- and eventually, the deeper the virus penetrates the body the greater the chances of the person becoming infected with AIDS. This paper reviews the most recent medical care that can (in many cases) keep the virus from spreading; it also reviews the way in which a person can become infected with HIV and the stages that HIV goes through.

Where did HIV originate from?

Scientists believe that chimpanzees in West Africa may have had the HIV and when Africans hunted and killed the infected chimpanzees -- and ate them -- and the blood that humans came into contact with, because it was HIV positive, was the link to infect African humans. The belief is that this could have occurred as far back as the late 19th century. From Africa, according to the CDC, it spread to other parts of the world and apparently was present in the U.S. around the mid-to-late 1970s.

How many people in the U.S. are HIV-positive?

Facts presented by the CDC show that more than 1.1 million Americans are presently dealing with the HIV infection; interestingly "…almost one it 6 are unaware of their infection" (that is 15.8% of the people with HIV who don't know they have it) (CDC). Those cultural groups with the most serious degrees of infection include: Bisexual and gay men, and "…particularly young black/African-American MSM" (CDC). The number of people carrying the HIV virus who don't know they have it is estimated to be 180,000. The CDC claims there are about 50,000 "new infections" each year in the U.S., and the CDC explains that the latest statistics show that 15,529 people diagnosed with AIDS died in the U.S. In 2010.

Is the number of new infections going down? No, in fact the nearly 30,000 of new HIV infections in 2010 was up by 12% from the new infections in 2008 (26,700) (CDC). Of the new HIV infections in 2010, 20% were with females -- and that represents a 21% increase for women since 2008. Eighty-four percent of the HIV infections for women came from "heterosexual contact" and 16% came from injecting drugs with infected needles.

African-Americans are only 12% of the U.S. population but in terms of new infections of HIV, blacks represented 44% of those new infections (CDC). Latinos represent about 16% of the U.S. population but they accounted for 21% of the new HIV infections in the year 2010, the CDC reports. Since the HIV / AIDS epidemic began, more than 260,800 African-Americans have passed away from AIDS and "…more than 96,200 Latinos have died from AIDS as well. Clearly, the HIV problem is not going away notwithstanding the advertising and Public Service Announcements warning the public about the dangers.

What stages does a person go through who becomes infected with HIV?

About two to four weeks after being infected a person begins to experience symptoms similar to the flu. This is referred to as "acute retroviral syndrome" (ARS), the initial HIV infection, but the CDC emphasizes that "…some people have no symptoms." In these first few weeks substantial amounts of HIV are produced in the body, and as mentioned in the Introduction, the HIV attacks CD4 cells. And while it is destroying the CD4 cells, the HIV is cloning itself and reducing the body's immune cells.

There may be a time with the CD4 count increases, but rarely do these cells return to the levels they were at prior to the HIV infection (CDC). Meanwhile during the "Clinical latency" period HIV sufferers who are taking the "antiretroviral therapy" (ART) may be in this period for "several years" -- up to ten -- what the CDC calls "inactivity or dormancy" period. In time, the ART may not be as effective as before, and the CD4 cells will "drop" and symptoms may return. And the next phase can be the full blown AIDS when the immune system is so badly damaged that the body can't fight back; in fact with the CD4 cell count dips below "200 cells per cubic millimeter of blood," that is when a person has progressed to AIDS (CDC).

Prevention of HIV

According to a CDC Fact Sheet (2011), uninfected individuals -- who may be involved in somewhat risky sexual behavior -- can take a PrEP pill "daily to reduce the risk of becoming infected." The drug trials currently underway are using "tenofovir" (brand name Viread) as a preventative medication, has been "proven safe and effective" in gay and bisexual men (CDC).