HIV- Human immunodeficiency virus

Hey peeps! Lemme review briefly on HIV, and how it works.

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a lentivirus, can lead to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in humans in which the immune system begins to fail, leading to life-threatening opportunistic infections, which eventually leads to death, slowly.

Some of exposure route:
- Blood Transfusion
- Childbirth
- Needle-sharing injection drug use
- Percutaneous needle stick
- Anal intercourse
- Penile-vaginal intercourse
- Oral intercourse

Steps in the HIV Replication Cycle:
1. Fusion of the HIV cell to the host cell surface.
2. HIV RNA, reverse transcriptase, integrase, and other viral proteins enter the host cell.
3. Viral DNA is formed by reverse transcription.
4. Viral DNA is transported across the nucleus and integrates into the host DNA.
5. New viral RNA is used as genomic RNA and to make viral proteins.
6. New viral RNA and proteins move to cell surface and a new, immature, HIV virus forms.
7. The virus matures by protease releasing individual HIV proteins.

How HIV Causes AIDS
HIV destroys CD4 + T cells, which are white blood cells that important in maintaining the function of the human immune system. As the virus attacks those cells, the person infected with HIV is less equipped to fight off infection and disease ultimately resulting in the development of AIDS.

Most people who are infected with HIV can carry the virus for years before sufficient damage to the immune system results in the development of AIDS. However, there is a strong connection between high levels of HIV in the blood and the decline in CD4+ T cells and the development of AIDS. Antiretroviral medicines can reduce the amount of virus in the body, preserve CD4+ T cells and dramatically slow the destruction of the immune system.

There is currently no vaccine or cure for HIV or AIDS. The only known method of prevention is avoiding exposure to the virus. Be safe!