What are HIV and AIDS?

HIV is the abbreviation used for the human immunodeficiency virus. HIV is the virus that causes AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome), a life-threatening disease.

HIV attacks the body's immune system. Normally, the immune system produces white blood cells and antibodies that fight viruses and bacteria. The infection-fighting cells are called T-cell lymphocytes. Months to years after a person is infected with HIV, this virus destroys the T-cells. When the T-cells are destroyed, the immune system can no longer defend the body against diseases and cancers.

When the immune system is weakened, various infections called opportunistic infections develop. They are called opportunistic because they take advantage of the weakened immune system. These infections would not normally cause severe or fatal health problems. However, when you have AIDS, the opportunistic infections eventually cause death because your body can no longer defend itself against them. AIDS is the condition of the body being overwhelmed by opportunistic infections or tumors.

How does it occur?

The AIDS virus is not spread through the air, in food, or by casual social contact such as shaking hands or hugging. It is passed on only when the blood or other body fluids of an infected person enter someone else's body. Spread of the virus can occur during such activities as:

• unprotected sexual activity
• sharing IV needles
• birth to an HIV-infected mother or breast-feeding from an infected woman
• blood transfusions (rare because of current screening tests).

The following groups have the highest risk for HIV infection and possible development of AIDS:

• sexually active homosexual men
• bisexual men and their partners
• IV drug users and their sexual partners
• people who share needles (for IV drug use, tattooing, or piercing)
• heterosexuals with more than one sexual partner
• people given transfusions of blood or blood products, especially people given emergency transfusions of blood that hasn't been tested for HIV and people given transfusions in countries where the blood is not rigorously tested
• immigrants from areas with many cases of AIDS (such as Haiti and east central Africa)
• people who have sex with anyone in the above groups
• people who have sex with an HIV-infected partner
• babies born to mothers who are HIV-infected.

What are the symptoms?

The symptoms of HIV infection and AIDS are usually the symptoms of the diseases that attack the body because of a weakened immune system:

• fever that lasts from a few days to longer than a month
• prolonged periods of chills and sweats
• chronic, or long-lasting, fatigue
• loss of appetite or weight, especially loss of more than 10% of body weight
• chronic muscle and joint pain
• sore throat
• prolonged swelling of the lymph nodes
• diarrhea, especially if it lasts longer than a month
• repeated, severe yeast infections in your mouth or vagina despite treatment
• long-lasting or multiple viral skin problems, such as herpes sores or plantar warts.

The opportunistic diseases that most frequently affect someone with AIDS include Kaposi's sarcoma, Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP), tuberculosis, meningitis, and herpes simplex infections.

How is it diagnosed?

The ELISA test is the first blood test done to see if you are infected with HIV. If this test is positive, another more specific blood test, usually the Western blot test, is done to confirm the results.

Once you have confirmed positive HIV test results, you must have a thorough medical exam. Your health care provider will ask about your medical history and symptoms and will examine you.

The complete medical history and physical exam includes discussing your history of sexual practices and sexually transmitted diseases. Your health care provider will also ask about any history of drug abuse.

You will have some lab tests. Comparisons of the results of your initial physical exam and lab tests with later results can help your health care provider evaluate symptoms you may develop in the future. It can also help your provider know how well your medicines are working.

You will be tested for certain infections, such as tuberculosis (TB), syphilis, and hepatitis B. These infections can worsen rapidly when you have HIV. They also pose a serious risk to others.

HIV-positive women should have a Pap smear according to the schedule recommended by their health care provider (usually every 6 to 12 months).

How is it treated?

Your treatment will include:

• lab tests to see how well your immune system is working, to measure the amount of HIV in your blood, and to screen for infections or other medical problems
• antiviral treatment, such as with the drugs zidovudine (also called ZDV or AZT), didanosine (ddI), lamivudine (3TC), and other protease inhibitors
• regular dental exams because people who are HIV positive often have mouth problems, including gum disease
• preventive treatment for such diseases as:
  • Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP)
  • tuberculosis
  • toxoplasmosis (be sure to avoid raw meat and cat litter boxes)
  • tetanus
  • hepatitis B
  • pneumococcus
  • influenza (by getting flu shots)
• treatments for other opportunistic infections and tumors as they develop.

The CD4 lymphocyte cell count is an important lab test. CD4 cells are a type of white blood cell. They are a good way to know how well the immune system is working. If the first CD4 cell count is greater than 600 per microliter of blood, the test should be repeated every 6 months. When the count begins to decrease, more frequent counts will be needed.

Another test, the viral load test, measures the amount of HIV in your blood. Levels above 10,000 viruses per milliliter of blood are high and usually require prompt treatment.

The CD4 count and the viral load test are the most common standards for deciding when to start anti-virus drugs and anti-pneumonia drugs. In most cases AZT is the first drug given. Your health care provider may prescribe didanosine (ddI) or dideoxycytidine (ddC) if you have side effects from AZT or if your symptoms get worse in spite of AZT. You may start treatment with 2 or more of these drugs, such as AZT and lamivudine (3TC).

Drugs such as AZT, ddI, and other protease inhibitors are often prescribed for people in both the early and late stages of HIV infection. These drugs may slow the onset of the disease, but they are not a cure. Many new drug treatments are being prescribed or studied.

Vision problems are often an early sign of opportunistic infection in HIV-positive individuals. Tell your health care provider promptly about any eye symptoms, especially if you keep having blurry vision or a loss of vision.

Getting care in an office or clinic that uses the case management concept of care is perhaps the most important aspect of your treatment. This approach emphasizes team care coordinated by a case manager. The case manager helps you communicate with all who are caring for you. Other advantages include:

• Up-to-date medical care will be available to you.
• Treatment of the medical and social aspects of your illness will be brought together.
• You will have help in finding resources (medical, social, financial).

How long do the effects last?

The full effects of AIDS may not appear until 5 to 10 years after you are first infected with HIV. Although AIDS is a fatal disease, life expectancy has increased as new treatments are developed.

How can I take care of myself?

Ask any new sexual partner about his or her sexual history. Be careful to practice safe sex, use condoms, and seek HIV testing.

If you are in a high-risk group but have not tested positively for HIV, see your doctor regularly. He or she will examine you for signs of HIV-associated infections and will recommend how often your blood should be tested for HIV infection.

If you are HIV positive:

• Discuss your treatment with your health care provider.
• See your provider on a regular schedule to keep up to date on new possible treatments.
• Contact a local AIDS support network. Your provider should be able to help you find one.

Call or see your health care provider if:

• You have new or persistent symptoms.
• You notice a change in body function that concerns you.
• You are having side effects from your medicine.

How can I help prevent spreading the HIV virus?

If you are HIV positive, you should:

• Practice safe sex: Do not share sexual secretions and blood in any way.
• Ask sexual partners to be tested for HIV.
• Tell your health care providers that you are HIV positive.

In addition:

• Do not share needles for drug use, tattooing, or body piercing.
• Try to avoid becoming pregnant.
• Do not donate blood, plasma, semen, or body parts.

How can I keep up to date on treatments for HIV infection?

Researchers are learning more about HIV. As a result, recommended treatments change often. Keeping up with these changes can be difficult and frustrating. Two ways you can seek up-to-date information and care are:

• Obtain health care from a case management model facility and follow the recommended appointment schedule.
• Contact the AIDS Hotline with specific questions or to find other resources.

  The National AIDS Hotline: 1-800-342-AIDS (1-800-342-2437), 24 hours, 7 days a week

  TDD: 1-800-243-7889 (10 a.m. to 10 p.m., EST, Monday through Friday

  Spanish National AIDS hotline: 1-800-344-7432, 8 a.m. to 2 a.m., EST, 7 days a week

  These hotlines are provided by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.