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The viral load of an infected person is an important risk factor in both sexual and mother-to-child transmission. [67] During the first 2.5 months of an HIV infection, a person's infectiousness is twelve times higher due to the high viral load associated with acute HIV. [65]
After the virus enters the body there is a period of rapid viral replication, leading to an abundance of virus in the peripheral blood. During primary infection, the level of HIV may reach several million virus particles per milliliter of blood. [2] This response is accompanied by a marked drop in the numbers of circulating CD4 + T cells.
HIV-1 is more virulent and more infective than HIV-2, [20] and is the cause of the majority of HIV infections globally. The lower infectivity of HIV-2, compared to HIV-1, implies that fewer of those exposed to HIV-2 will be infected per exposure. Due to its relatively poor capacity for transmission, HIV-2 is largely confined to West Africa. [21]
Male-to-male transmission is the most common mode of transmission in the US, and male-to-female is the most common mode in resource-limited settings. Although less common, female-to-male transmissions occur as well since HIV is present in the vaginal and cervical fluids of infected women.
The nutritional needs of people with HIV/AIDS are also greater due to their immune system fighting off opportunistic infections that do not normally cause disease in people with healthy immune systems. [3] Medication along with proper nutrition is a major component of maintaining good health and quality of life for people living with HIV/AIDS.
HIV is carried in body fluids and is spread by sexual activity. It can also be spread by contact with infected blood, breastfeeding, childbirth, and from mother to child during pregnancy. [73] When HIV is at its most advanced stage, an individual is said to have AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome). [74]
The HIV business, the focus of a GSK's capital markets day on Thursday, is now targeting annual rates of sales growth of between 6% and 8%, to reach between 6 billion pounds ($7.31 billion) and 7 ...
In the past there have been cases of HIV transmission to an HIV-negative partner through processed artificial insemination, [121] but a large modern series in which followed 741 couples where the man had a stable viral load and semen samples were tested for HIV-1, there were no cases of HIV transmission. [122]