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Immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (IRIS) is a condition seen in some cases of HIV/AIDS or immunosuppression, in which the immune system begins to recover, but then responds to a previously acquired opportunistic infection with an overwhelming inflammatory response that paradoxically makes the symptoms of infection worse.
In patients with HIV, starting antiretroviral therapy is especially important for restoration of the immune system and reducing the incidence rate of opportunistic infections [51] [52] In patients undergoing chemotherapy, completion of and recovery from treatment is the primary method for immune system restoration.
HIV seeks out and destroys CCR5 expressing CD4 + cells during acute infection. A vigorous immune response eventually controls the infection and initiates the clinically latent phase. However, CD4 + T cells in mucosal tissues remain depleted throughout the infection, although enough remain to initially ward off life-threatening infections.
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]
Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is defined as an HIV infection with either a CD4 + T cell count below 200 cells per μL or the occurrence of specific diseases associated with HIV infection. [32] In the absence of specific treatment, around half of people infected with HIV develop AIDS within ten years. [32]
People with AIDS often develop opportunistic infections that present with non-specific symptoms, especially low-grade fevers and weight loss. These include opportunistic infection with Mycobacterium avium-intracellulare and cytomegalovirus (CMV). CMV can cause colitis, as described above, and CMV retinitis can cause blindness. [citation needed]
One HIV-positive physician is known to have been infected while attending a course on tropical microbiology. He did not handle the organism, though students in the same laboratory did. It is presumed he contracted the infection by inhaling aerosol containing T. marneffei conidia. This shows that airborne infections are possible.
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 .