12/01/2013
How We Exposed to AIDS?
Actually, we do not 'hit' AIDS. We may be infected with HIV, and later developed AIDS. We can get HIV from someone who is already infected, although it does not look sick person, even with the HIV test results are not positive. The blood, vaginal fluid, semen and breast milk of an infected person contain enough virus to infect other people. The majority of people infected with HIV through:
sex with HIV-infected people
sharing needles with infected people
birth by infected mothers, or breastfed by HIV-infected women
There used to be infected with HIV through a blood transfusion containing HIV (taken from an HIV infected), but now Red Cross blood screened very carefully and the risk is very low.
What Happens When We Infected HIV ?
We may not know that we are newly infected with HIV . Approximately 2-3 weeks after infection , some people experience flu-like symptoms : fever , headache , muscle and joint pain , abdominal pain , swollen lymph glands , or a rash on the skin for one or two weeks . These symptoms usually disappear without treatment . Most people feel this is the flu . Some people do not experience any symptoms . See Fact Sheet 103 for more information about the early stages of HIV infection .
The virus will multiply in your body for several weeks or even months before your immune system responds . During this period , HIV test results remained negative ( sometimes reported as ' non - reactive ' ) , even though we already infected and can infect others .
After responding to the virus , the immune system starts making antibodies . Having made enough antibodies , HIV test result will be positive or ' reactive ' . After the flu-like symptoms ( if it happens ) , we will remain healthy for years - some people experience no symptoms for ten years or more . But during this asymptomatic period , HIV continues to damage our immune system .
How Do We Know We AIDS ?
HIV disease becomes AIDS when the immune system is very broken . If your CD4 count is below 200 , or CD4 percentage ( CD4 % ) below 14 % , we are considered to have AIDS . When we experience a certain IO , we are considered to have AIDS . Ministry of Health formally issued a list of AIDS defining opportunistic . The most common are :
TB ( tuberculosis ) , in pulmonary or extra-pulmonary ( LI 515 ) ;
PCP , a kind of lung infection ( LI 512 ) ;
CMV ( Cytomegalovirus ) , an infection that usually affects the eyes ( LI 501 ) , and
Candidiasis , a fungal infection in the mouth or vagina ( LI 516 ) .
Other symptoms of AIDS include excessive weight loss and other health problems . If left untreated , the IO can be dangerous .
AIDS is different for every person with AIDS. There are people who get AIDS several months after infection , but most can live quite well for many years , even after AIDS . A small portion of people with HIV stay healthy for many years even without taking antiretroviral therapy ( ART ) .
