 |
|
AIDS
AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome) is an immune deficiency syndrome caused by the human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV. This virus permits opportunistic infections and malignancies, and can injure the cells of the nervous system. In the very early period following infection, there may or may not be signs of acute, brief, nonspecific viral infection with fever, malaise, rash, and joint pain. Following this, evidence of AIDS in the blood appears. After the infection, the patient may have no symptoms but be a carrier of the disease. The time from infection to diagnosis varies from several years to more than five.
AIDS is considered a fatal disease. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved drugs such as AZT to treat HIV infection in certain AIDS patients, but this medicine does not cure AIDS. For this reason, it is important to educate the public about the ways HIV can be spread so that they can practice methods of prevention. HIV is transmitted by: unprotected sex with an infected partner; sharing needles; receiving a contaminated blood product; or birth or breastfeeding from an infected mother.
|
|
