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HIV is spread primarily by unprotected sex (including anal and vaginal sex), contaminated hypodermic needles or blood transfusions, and from mother to child during pregnancy, delivery, or breastfeeding. [18] Some bodily fluids, such as saliva, sweat, and tears, do not transmit the virus. [19] Oral sex has little risk of transmitting the virus. [20]
Figure 1. Early Symptoms of HIV. The stages of HIV infection are acute infection (also known as primary infection), latency, and AIDS.Acute infection lasts for several weeks and may include symptoms such as fever, swollen lymph nodes, inflammation of the throat, rash, muscle pain, malaise, and mouth and esophageal sores.
The CD4 T-cell count is not an HIV test, but rather a procedure where the number of CD4 T-cells in the blood is determined. A CD4 count does not check for the presence of HIV. It is used to monitor immune system function in HIV-positive people. Declining CD4 T-cell counts are considered to be a marker of progression of HIV infection.
Two types of HIV have been characterized: HIV-1 and HIV-2. HIV-1 is the virus that was initially discovered and termed both lymphadenopathy associated virus (LAV) and human T-lymphotropic virus 3 (HTLV-III). 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 ...
In a survey of 229 HIV-seronegative injection-drug users in New York City, mean CD4+ T-cell counts of the group were consistently more than 1000 cells/μL of blood. Only two individuals had two CD4+ T-cell measurements of less than 300/μL of blood, one of whom died with cardiac disease and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma listed as the cause of death.
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.
A complete blood count (CBC), also known as a full blood count (FBC), is a set of medical laboratory tests that provide information about the cells in a person's blood.The CBC indicates the counts of white blood cells, red blood cells and platelets, the concentration of hemoglobin, and the hematocrit (the volume percentage of red blood cells).
An uninfected person has 500-1500 CD4 T cells/μL of blood. When this count lowers to less than 500 CD4 T cells/μL, opportunistic infections can occur where the immune system is no longer able to fight pathogens it would have easily cleared in an unimpaired state. The infection progresses to AIDS when the count falls below 200 CD4 T cells/μL ...