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College Tribune | November 25th 2008
body’s immune system and as the disease progresses it becomes “increasingly difficult for the body to ward off common infections”. It particularly targets CD4 white blood cells, which have a “pivotal role to play in setting in motion the immune response”. The virus uses the cells energy and nutrients to replicate itself allowing it to go on and infect other cells. The lower a person’s CD4 count, the weaker will be their immune system. A CD4 count of less than 200 is a defining feature of AIDS. AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) is the result of the damage caused by HIV to the immune system. The damaged and weakened immune system is unable to adequately protect the body against opportunistic infections and infections which cause very little, if any problems in ‘uninfected immunocompetant individuals’. “You must be HIV positive before you can develop AIDS”. There are four stages of HIV. The progression from stage one through to stage four can range
from two to twenty years. However “it is important to bear in mind that not everyone infected with HIV will develop AIDS”. He estimates that about 15% of those infected fall into this ‘longterm non-progressive’ category. The four stages include (1) Infection (2) Asymptomatic phase (3) Symptomatic phase and finally (4) AIDS. It is important to bear in mind that following infection it can take anywhere between 45 days and 6 months before the test results can be considered conclusive. This “window period” is required for the body to produce antibodies to the virus, which can subsequently be detected by the common HIV testing methods. This is an important factor people must realise “getting a STI screen two days after unprotected sex will not definitively rule out HIV”. This is why follow up testing should be done at least three months “post exposure”. Since 1987, the consultant revealed that those living in developed countries have access to a number of drugs which help treat the HIV infec-
Features
tion and delay the progression to AIDS. Some of these drugs are specifically targeted at the virus itself, while others aim to treat the opportunistic infections which HIV positive people are susceptible to. Some of the major advances that have been made include drugs which inhibit the virus from reproducing itself, thereby slowing down its rate of infection of other cells in the body. Furthermore, a new anti-viral drug has been developed which prevents the HIV from attaching to the human DNA, thereby preventing access to the nutrients and energy required to replicate. As HIV is made up of RNA genetic material it needs to become DNA genetic material to reproduce. These anti viral drugs block two HIV enzymes called reverse transcriptase (RT) and protease from changing the genetic make-up of HIV, in order to reproduce itself in the human body. In addition a new anti-viral drug prevents the HIV attaching to human DNA. Many HIV patients are taking several drugs in
combination, a regime known as HAART (Highly active antiretroviral treatment). When successful, these “cocktail therapies” can reduce the level of HIV in the bloodstream to very low levels, sometimes even allowing the immune cells in the body to “rebound to normal”. He concluded by noting that the introduction of effective new treatments has meant that many HIV infected people are living healthier lives for longer periods of time. He intoned however that “not everyone responds well to treatment and the side effects for some can be arduous to endure”. What started out as little known about virus which infected primates, this resilient organism crossed the species barrier to become an epidemic with over 25 million infected people worldwide. It is imperative that we all take adequate precautions to safeguard our health, and this means practicing safer sex. It is only through raised awareness and less risky behavior; coupled with the ongoing advances in HIV treatment can we hope to beat this “global pandemic”.
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