Breif: HIV/AIDS

HIV stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus, and AIDS stands for Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome. HIV is a virus that attacks the immune system, specifically targeting white blood cells that help the body fight infections. If left untreated, HIV can progress to AIDS, which is the most advanced stage of HIV infection where the immune system is severely damaged, making the person vulnerable to various life-threatening infections and cancers.

It’s analysed by history.com on 21/02/2021 that HIV and AIDS began spreading among humans in the 1920s and became a public health crisis by the 1980s, before the first effective treatments emerged.

The origin of HIV/AIDS can be traced back to the early 20th century. Scientists believe that HIV-1, the predominant strain of HIV, originated from a virus in chimpanzees in West Africa and was transmitted to humans through contact with infected blood, likely during bushmeat hunting. The earliest known case of HIV-1 infection in human blood is from a sample taken in 1959 from a man who died in Kinshasa, then the Belgian Congo.

HIV/AIDS spread to other parts of the world over the decades. In the United States, the first cases of AIDS were reported in 1981, when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published a report about five previously healthy homosexual men becoming infected with Pneumocystis pneumonia, a condition that is now believed to be c aused by HIV infection.

The virus spread globally through sexual contact, blood transfusions, and sharing of needles among injection drug users. By the late 1980s, HIV/AIDS had become a global pandemic, affecting millions of people worldwide. Sub-Saharan Africa remains the hardest-hit region, accounting for approximately two-thirds of all people living with HIV globally.

The virus also spreads through body fluids such as blood, breast milk, semen, and vaginal fluids. It can also be transmitted from a mother to her child during pregnancy, delivery, or through breastfeeding.

Since the 1980s, significant global efforts have been made to address the HIV/AIDS epidemic, including the development of antiretroviral therapy (ART) which has greatly reduced the number of AIDS-related deaths. Today, HIV can be managed as a chronic condition with proper treatment, and people living with HIV who are on ART and have an undetectable viral load will not transmit HIV to their sexual partners.

It is analysed by mayoclinic.org tha some people infected by HIV get a flu-like illness within 2 to 4 weeks after the virus enters the body. This stage may last a few days to several weeks. Some people have no symptoms during this stage.

Possible symptoms include:

Fever, Headache, muscle aches and joint pain, Rash, Sore throat and painful mouth sores, Swollen lymph glands, also called nodes, mainly on the neck,Diarrhea,Sore throat and painful mouth sores, Weight loss, Cough,Night sweats

These symptoms can be so mild that you might not notice them. However, the amount of virus in your bloodstream, called viral load, is high at this time. As a result, the infection spreads to others more easily during primary infection than during the next stage.

Howver, HIV/AIDS can be prevented through several methods: