HIV AIDS - THE SLOW BUT SURE KILLER !

WHAT IS HIV/AIDS?

HIV/AIDS is a chronic disease caused by a virus called the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). One gets HIV infection by indulging in unprotected sexual intercourse with an infected person, through HIV infected blood and blood products, or through the use of unsterilized needles and syringes. A HIV positive pregnant mother can give the infection to her newborn child during the pregnancy itself, during labour or by breastfeeding. A HIV infected person can be perfectly normal and healthy, and remain asymptomatic for up to 8 to 12 years. AIDS is the last stage of HIV infection and usually manifests with symptoms such as fever, loss of weight, ulcers in the mouth, pneumonia, tuberculosis in parts other than the lung or in many parts of the body, diarrhea for more than one month, or brain fever. In people with AIDS the CD4 cell count (a kind of white blood cell which helps protect the person from infection) will be 200 cells/mm 3 of blood or below. The normal CD4 count is 500-1500 cells/mm