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The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of Lentivirus (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans.Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), [1] [2] a condition in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive. [3]
WHO Disease Staging System for HIV Infection and Disease was first produced in 1990 by the World Health Organization [1] and updated in 2007. [2] It is an approach for use in resource limited settings and is widely used in Africa and Asia and has been a useful research tool in studies of progression to symptomatic HIV disease .
HIV can survive at room temperature outside the body for hours if dry (provided that initial concentrations are high), [31] and for weeks if wet (in used syringes/needles). [32] However, the amounts typically present in bodily fluids do not survive nearly as long outside the body—generally no more than a few minutes if dry. [23]
People living with HIV can expect to live a nearly normal life span if able to achieve durable viral suppression on combination antiretroviral therapy. However this requires lifelong medication and will still have higher rates of cardiovascular, kidney, liver and neurologic disease. [130] This has prompted further research towards a cure for HIV.
Without treatment a person living with HIV can expect to live for 11 years. [6] Early testing can show if treatment is needed to stop this progression and to prevent infecting others. HIV is spread primarily by unprotected sex (including anal and vaginal sex ), contaminated hypodermic needles or blood transfusions , and from mother to child ...
The latency stage involves few or no symptoms and can last anywhere from two weeks to twenty years or more, depending on the individual. AIDS, the final stage of HIV infection, is defined by low CD4+ T cell counts (fewer than 200 per μL), various opportunistic infections, cancers, and other conditions.
WHO Disease Staging System for HIV Infection and Disease in Adults and Adolescents was first produced in 1990 by the World Health Organization [1] and updated in September 2005. It is an approach for use in resource limited settings and is widely used in Africa and Asia and has been a useful research tool in studies of progression to ...
HIV is commonly transmitted via unprotected sexual activity, blood transfusions, hypodermic needles, and from mother to child. Upon acquisition of the virus, the virus replicates inside and kills T helper cells , which are required for almost all adaptive immune responses .