Human immunodeficiency virus infection / acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS)

Is a disease of the human immune system caused by infection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). During the initial infection, a person may experience a brief period of influenza-like illness.Symptoms commonly include fever, shivering, chills, malaise, - "general feeling of being unwell." - dry cough, loss of appetite, body aches and nausea, typically in connection with a sudden onset of illness.

This is typically followed by a prolonged period without symptoms. As the illness progresses, it interferes more and more with the immune system, making the person much more likely to get infections, including opportunistic infections and tumors that do not usually affect people who have working immune systems.An opportunistic infection is an infection caused by pathogens, particularly opportunistic pathogens—those that take advantage of certain situations—such as bacterial, viral, fungal or protozoan infections that usually do not cause disease in a healthy host, one with a healthy immune system. A HIV/AIDS infected system, however, presents an "opportunity" for the pathogen to infect..

 

HIV is transmitted primarily via:

• Unprotected sexual intercourse (including anal and oral sex),Safe sex is sexual activity engaged in by people who have taken precautions to protect themselves against sexually transmitted infections (STIs) such as HIV/AIDS. It is also referred to as safer sex or protected sex, while unsafe or unprotected sex is sexual activity engaged in without precautions. Some sources prefer the term safer sex to more precisely reflect the fact that these practices reduce, but do not completely eliminate, the risk of disease transmission.The term sexually transmitted infections (STIs) has gradually become preferred over sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), as it has a broader range of meaning; a person may be infected, and may potentially infect others, without showing signs of disease.

• Contaminated blood transfusions,Blood transfusion is generally the process of receiving blood products into one's circulation intravenously. Transfusions are used for various medical conditions to replace lost components of the blood. Early transfusions used whole blood, but modern medical practice commonly uses only components of the blood, such as red blood cells, white blood cells, plasma, clotting factors, and platelets.

• Hypodermic needles,A hypodermic needle (from Greek ὑπο- (under-), and δέρμα (skin)) is a hollow needle commonly used with a syringe to inject substances into the body or extract fluids from it. Large bore hypodermic intervention is especially useful in catastrophic blood loss or shock. This is a common occurence under drug users who inject and use needles.

• Mother to child during pregnancy,A vertically transmitted infection is an infection caused by bacteria, viruses or, in rare cases, parasites transmitted directly from the mother to an embryo, fetus or baby during pregnancy or childbirth. It can occur when the mother gets an infection as an intercurrent disease in pregnancyy and let your users know a little more about you.