How does HIV increase susceptibility to other infections?
Having HIV/AIDS weakens your body’s immune system. It destroys the white blood cells that fight infection. This puts you at risk for opportunistic infections (OIs).
Who is susceptible HIV?
By race/ethnicity, Blacks/African Americans and Hispanics/Latinos are disproportionately affected by HIV compared to other racial and ethnic groups. Also, transgender women who have sex with men are among the groups at highest risk for HIV infection, and injection drug users remain at significant risk for getting HIV.
What type of infections are HIV infected patients susceptible to?
Common opportunistic infections associated with HIV include:
- cryptococcal meningitis.
- toxoplasmosis.
- PCP (a type of pneumonia)
- oesophageal candidiasis.
- certain cancers, including Kaposi’s sarcoma.
What is HIV infection precautions?
Standard precautions • Respect hand hygiene before and after any patient contact and after contact with contaminated items, whether or not gloves are worn. Wear personal protective equipment based on risk assessment and to avoid contact with blood, body fluids, excretions, and secretions.
How are host factors influencing susceptibility to HIV?
The role of cellular factors influencing HIV replication and immunity can be addressed by exposing primary cells from healthy seronegative individuals to virus in vitro. Likewise, statistical associations between haplotypes or single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) can be drawn by monitoring the extent of viral replication in vitro.
How is acquired immunodeficiency syndrome related to AIDS?
Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is a chronic, potentially life-threatening condition caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). By damaging your immune system, HIV interferes with your body’s ability to fight infection and disease. HIV is a sexually transmitted infection (STI).
How does HIV affect a person with AIDS?
HIV infection leads to a weakened immune system. This makes a person with HIV vulnerable to infections. AIDS results when HIV infection progresses to an advanced stage, damaging the immune system to a point at which the body can no longer fight illness. Drugs are available which can treat HIV and AIDS.
How is the severity of HIV infection determined?
Severity of illness is determined by amount of virus in the body (increasing viral load) and the degree of immune suppression (decreasing CD4+ counts). As the CD4 count declines, the immune function decreases. WHO HIV/AIDS Classification System WHO (World Health Organization) marks the progression of HIV infection with four stages.
