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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 .
Lentivirus is a genus of retroviruses that cause chronic and deadly diseases characterized by long incubation periods, in humans and other mammalian species. [2] The genus includes the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), which causes AIDS.
HIV is a retrovirus that primarily infects components of the human immune system such as CD4 + T cells, macrophages and dendritic cells. It directly and indirectly destroys CD4 + T cells. [88] HIV is a member of the genus Lentivirus, [89] part of the family Retroviridae. [90] Lentiviruses share many morphological and biological characteristics.
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]
As of 2021, the prevalence rate among adults ages 15–49 was 1.2% with 14 000 new HIV cases presenting in both adults and children which is a 28% decrease from 2010. [35] [72] HIV transmission occurs largely through heterosexual intercourse. A greater number of people who get infected with HIV/AIDS are heterosexuals.
The most updated HIV testing protocols recommend using the HIV-1 and HIV-2 antigen/antibody combination immunoassay as the initial screening test for an HIV infection. [22] This blood test assesses whether or not the mother has created antibodies, which are disease-fighting proteins of the immune system, against the HIV-1 and HIV-2 viruses ...
The first identification of HIV-2 occurred in 1985 in Senegal by microbiologist Souleymane Mboup and his collaborators. [28] The first case in the United States was in 1987. [29] The first confirmed case of HIV-2 was a Portuguese man who was treated at the London Hospital for Tropical Diseases and later died in 1987.
HIV/AIDS denialism is the belief, despite conclusive evidence to the contrary, that the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) does not cause acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). [1] [2] [3] Some of its proponents reject the existence of HIV, while others accept that HIV exists but argue that it is a harmless passenger virus and not the ...