- WHAT DOES “AIDS” MEAN?
- HOW DO YOU GET AIDS?
- WHAT HAPPENS IF I’M HIV POSITIVE?
- HOW DO I KNOW IF I HAVE AIDS?
- IS THERE A CURE FOR AIDS?
|
this Fact Sheet on a single page using: |
|
|
|
|
|
More information on Downloading & Printing Fact Sheets |
|
Print
MEAN?
AIDS stands for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome:
- Acquired means you can get infected with it;
- Immune Deficiency means a weakness in the body’s system that
fights diseases.
- Syndrome means a group of health problems that make up a
disease.
AIDS is caused by a virus called HIV, the Human Immunodeficiency
Virus. If you get infected with HIV, your body will try to fight
the infection. It will make “antibodies”, special molecules
that are supposed to fight HIV.
When you get a blood test for HIV, the test looks for these
antibodies. If you have them in your blood, it means that you
have HIV infection. People who have the HIV antibodies are called
“HIV-Positive”. Fact
Sheet 102 has more information on HIV
testing.
Being HIV-positive, or having HIV disease, is not the same
as having AIDS. Many people are HIV-positive but don’t get sick
for many years. As HIV disease continues, it slowly wears down
the immune system. Viruses, parasites, fungi and bacteria that
usually don’t cause any problems can make you very sick if your
immune system is damaged. These are called “opportunistic
infections” (see Fact
Sheet 500).
You don’t actually “get” AIDS. You might get infected
with HIV, and later you might develop AIDS.
You can get infected with HIV from anyone who’s infected, even
if they don’t look sick, and even if they haven’t tested HIV-positive
yet. The blood, vaginal fluid, semen, and breast milk of people
infected with HIV has enough of the virus in it to infect other
people. Most people get the HIV virus by:
- Having sex with an infected person.
- Sharing a needle (shooting drugs) with someone who’s infected
- Being born when the mother is infected, or drinking the breast
milk of an infected woman.
Getting a transfusion of infected blood used to be a way people
got AIDS, but now the blood supply is screened very carefully
and the risk is extremely low.
There are no documented cases of HIV being transmitted by tears
or saliva, but it is possible to be infected with HIV through
oral sex or in rare cases through deep kissing, especially if
you have open sores in your mouth or bleeding gums.
In the United States, there are about 800,000 to 900,000 people
who are HIV-positive. Over 300,000 people are living with AIDS.
Each year, there are about 40,000 new infections. In the mid-1990s,
AIDS was a leading cause of death. However, newer treatments have
cut the AIDS death rate significantly.
I’M HIV POSITIVE?
You might not know if you get infected by HIV. Some people
get fever, headache, sore muscles and joints, stomach ache, swollen
lymph glands, or a skin rash for one or two weeks. Most people
think it’s the flu. Some people have no symptoms. Fact
Sheet 103 has more information on the early
stage of HIV infection.
The virus will multiply in your body for a few weeks or even
months before your immune system responds. During this time, you
won’t test positive for HIV, but you can infect other people.
When your immune system responds, it starts to make antibodies.
When this happens, you will test positive for HIV.
After the first flu-like symptoms, some people with HIV stay
healthy for ten years or longer. But during this time, HIV is
damaging your immune system.
One way to measure the damage to your immune system is to count
your CD4+ cells you have. These
cells, also called “T-helper” cells, are an important
part of the immune system. Healthy people have between 500 and
1,500 CD4+cells in milliliter of blood. Fact
Sheet 412 has more information on T-cells.
Without treatment, your CD4+ cell will most likely go down.
You might start having signs of HIV disease like fevers, night
sweats, diarrhea, or swollen lymph nodes. If you have HIV disease,
these problems will last more than a few days, and probably continue
for several weeks.
I HAVE AIDS?
HIV disease becomes AIDS when your immune system is seriously
damaged. If you have less than 200 CD4+ cells or if your CD4+
percentage is less than 14%, you have AIDS. See Fact Sheet 412
for more information on CD4+ cells. If you get an opportunistic
infection, you have AIDS. There is an “official”
list of opportunistic infections, put out by the Centers for Disease
Control (CDC). The most common ones are:
- PCP (Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia),
a lung infection;
- KS (Kaposi’s sarcoma), a skin cancer;
- CMV (Cytomegalovirus), an infection
that usually affects the eyes; and
- Candida, a fungal infection
that can cause thrush (a white film in your mouth) or infections
in your throat or vagina.
AIDS-related diseases also includes serious weight loss, brain
tumors, and other health problems. Without treatment, these opportunistic
infections can kill you. The official CDC definition of AIDS is
available at <http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/
mmwrhtml/00018871.htm>
AIDS is different in every infected person. Some people die
soon after getting infected, while others live fairly normal lives
for many years, even after they “officially” have AIDS.
A few HIV-positive people stay healthy for many years even without
taking anti-HIV medications.
FOR AIDS?
There is no cure for AIDS. There are drugs that can slow down
the HIV virus, and slow down the damage to your immune system.
But there is no way to get all the HIV out of your body.
There are other drugs that you can take to prevent or to treat
opportunistic infections (OIs). In most cases, these drugs work
very well. The newer, stronger anti-HIV drugs have also helped
reduce the rates of most OIs. A few OIs, however, are still very
difficult to treat.
Revised November
16, 2002
Goto InfoNet Main Page
Go toIndex of Fact Sheets
Clickhere if you have questions
for Downloading & Printing Fact Sheets
New Mexico AIDS Education and Training Center
and the New Mexico Department of Health