Medical definition :
AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) a very serious disease results from the inability of the immune systems in the body to fight many diseases, and often leads eventually to death.
Although some researchers were following cases of the disease since 1959, but the first discovery of AIDS was in America in 1981, and then followed by diagnosing of the disease worldwide.
Etiology
AIDS is caused by two viruses in a group of viruses called " Retrovirus viruses " , was first discovered by French researchers in 1983 and U.S. researchers in 1984. In 1985 the virus was called human immunodeficiency virus or (HIV). They also discovered another virus called (HIV-2) .
Virus attacks mainly certain white blood cells, including T cells which play an important role in the function of the immune system. Virus Multiplies inside these cells which leads to break down the normal function of the immune system. For this reason, the HIV-infected person becomes susceptible to certain bacterial diseases may not afflict the normal persons or may not cause illness at all. These bacterial diseases are called opportunistic diseases, because they produce their effect when the immune system crashes.
How is AIDS virus transmitted ??
Lies in this three reasons :
1 - Sexual intercourse is the main reason for the transmission of the AIDS virus: The natural sex or sexual abnormalities types. And is required to be one of the persons carrying the virus to be transmitted to the other person. The Oral communication can transmit the virus but with very little possibility .
2 - Exposure to infected blood: through blood transfusions or contact with injured bleeding skin carrying the virus (before blood clotting, because the virus dies within minutes in external medium)
3 - Transmission of the virus from mother to fetus.
** You should know that virus is NOT been transmitted by the following ways :
- Food, water or anything that is swallowed.
- The use of sick person's tools or Clothes (except instruments contaminated fresh blood before clotting)
- Dermal
- Kissing or saliva
- Air
Symptoms
AIDS Virus can present in the human body -after transmission- for ten years or more without showing any symptoms. The half of people that are infected with AIDS appears to have symptoms associated with other diseases are usually less dangerous than AIDS, but in the presence of HIV virus, these symptoms goes on and become more severe. These symptoms include lymph nodes hyperatrophy, severe fatigue, fever, loss of appetite, weight loss, diarrhea, night sweats, deterioration in the overall health of the human being and may affect the brain causing an imbalance in thinking and feeling, memory, movement and balance.
People with HIV are exposed for opportunistic infections (infections that appear when patients impaired immune only), there are certain diseases affecting people living with HIV, for example, (Pneumocycstis Carini) and (skin cancer) are most the accompanying diseases that afflict 65% of AIDS patients. Pneumonia is that infection of the lungs which leads to death. The tumor sarcoma is a type of cancer appears on the skin and is similar to the affected skin burns, but cancer grows and spreads.
Some people may become infected with HIV and do not appear to have any symptoms of the disease, while others get the virus and do not appear to have opportunistic infections, but may show symptoms within two to ten years or more after infection with the virus. The children who are born with AIDS have symptoms, in a period of less than the above-mentioned period in adults.
Diagnosis :
Detection of the presence of signs of the AIDS virus in the blood became widespread and available to all, and these tests determine the presence of antibodies to the AIDS virus. Antibodies are proteins produced by white blood cells when entering certain viruses or bacteria or foreign bodies to the human body. The presence of antibodies to the AIDS virus in the blood indicates infection.
HIV Can not be diagnosed with the disease symptoms only, confirmation occurs in the presence of a positive analysis. The presence of symptoms of opportunistic infections, leads to the suspicion of the disease and not diagnosing it, as these diseases can infect people who have weak immune from other causes.
Laboratory analysis is currently available in every country in the world, and is a high accuracy test. Based analysis is "ELISA HIV1 + HIV2" and every other tests in the market are inaccurate and not supported by the World Health Organization.
Analysis of the blood may present normal results during the first three months after the transmission of the virus, that is because antibodies may be delayed in appearance, due to the slow growth of the virus in the body. So it can not deny or confirm the disease in duration of three months after transmission. In a few cases, the appearance of antibodies is delayed, so it is advisable to re-analysis after 6 months when the analysis results is normal, to be more precise.
There is an analysis called PCR analysis, based on calculating the amount of virus in the blood of patient, and is not used for diagnosis, but is used to follow the progression of the disease when infected.
Remedies :
There are few medications that can stop the growth of the AIDS virus in laboratory Farms as medications which contain the active ingredient "zidovudine", which are part of antiviral medications that are commonly used. Also there are other recently medicines, under discussion, that give good results, but are so expensive, so they can be used in only a small number of rich country's population.
Although these treatments are effective, the recovery remains rare, and deaths resulting from the disease is very high (95%).
Prevention:
- Avoid sexual relations of all kinds except your wife.
- The use of condoms in sexual relations suspicious: it gives high protection rate, but it is not 100% due to use or accidents poor manufacturing
- Avoid the use of contaminated needles (for medical purposes or for drug abuse)
- Avoid blood transfusion except when blood is negative of the viruses
- Sterilize all tools that are exposed to the blood of different people (dentist's tools, barber, etc.)