HIV and AIDS

HIV and AIDS have had many treatment advancements.

What are HIV and AIDS?

HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) is the virus that causes AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome). HIV is a virus that destroys the cells of the immune system. Typically, the human body can fight off viruses. The immune system cannot rid itself of HIV, though, so the virus remains for the rest of the patents’ lives. HIV can hide in the body and attack the T-cells or CD4 cells by invading them and making copies of itself, destroying the cells. The last stage of HIV infection is AIDS. While there is no cure for HIV, not every person who has HIV develops AIDS. There are many treatments and medications that can halt the progression of HIV, keep the viral levels low, and reduce the risk of transmission. AIDS occurs when HIV has destroyed enough of the immune system so that opportunistic infections (OIs) occur. Some of these diseases include certain cancers.¹ HIV is spread through sexual contact, blood (e.g., needle sharing, blood transfusions), and from mother to child (via blood or breast milk). It is not spread from touching items an infected person has touched, through hugging, by playing sports, or via mosquito bites. HIV is not spread when a person donates an organ, but it can spread to an organ donation recipient. With proper blood screening, the risk of transmission through blood transfusions and organ donation is rare. The people most at risk of contracting and spreading HIV are drug users who share needles, babies born to infected mothers who had not been treated during pregnancy, people engaging in unprotected sex, those who received blood transfusions between 1977 and 1985, and the sexual partners of people who have engaged in high-risk behaviors.²

Famous HIV and AIDS Cases

Ryan White was a 13 year old boy who was diagnosed with AIDS, which he contracted as a result of blood transfusions that treated his hemophilia. He and his mother used his illness to fight discrimination and to help educate people about the disease. After Ryan White’s death in 1990 (at age 18), Congress passed an AIDS bill in his name, which became known as the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program.³A famous basketball player, Earvin “Magic” Johnson, was diagnosed with HIV over 20 year ago. He assumed, like most people did at the time, that it “was a death sentence”. There was only one drug on the market to treat HIV at the time of his diagnosis, and there are “more than 30 drugs” today”. Healthcare professionals have more knowledge about the disease now than they did then. There has been misinformation and discrimination about HIV and AIDS in the past, but people like Ryan White and Magic Johnson have helped to educate the public. A recent study has shown that “people infected with HIV who have their condition well-controlled with treatment aren’t likely to die any earlier” than those without it.⁴

Treatments

The cocktail of medications involved in fighting HIV are called ART (antiretroviral therapy). They are a combination of medicines that patients take daily. It is important for people who think they may have acquired HIV to get tested.⁵ The “HIV ELISA and HIV Western blot tests detect antibodies to the HIV virus”, and, to confirm if a patient has HIV, both tests need to be positive. Even if patients receive ART treatment, they can still pass HIV on to others. Not sharing needles, avoiding breastfeeding and blood/plasma/sperm/organ donation (if infected), and using condoms are helpful. Regarding sexual contact, abstinence is best for preventing HIV transmission.⁶