HIV V/S AIDS

Understanding the difference between HIV and AIDS is very important, as improper
knowledge could be hazardous.
HIV is Human Immuno Deficiency virus, is a virus While AIDS is, Acquired Immuno
Defficiency Syndrome, which is a fatal disease. HIV are lentivirus, (lenti- Latin for
"slow"- long incubation period) which are a subset of retrovirus, causes very slow
degeneration of the immunity system. It remains dormant for several days after it
predates the human body. The final stage of the HIV infection is called AIDS.
Other differences between HIV and AIDS are mentioned below:
HIV is a virus that
-Attacks only human.( Animals can not suffer from AIDS. )
-Creates a deficiency in the immunity system.
-The virus cannot reproduce by itself. (requires CD4 cells)
-Takes over the human cell system and multiplies with the help of that.
AIDS is a disease that
-Is acquired by external means. It is not genetically transmitted (Mother-to-child
transmission is when an HIV-infected woman passes the virus to her baby during
pregnancy, labour and delivery, or breastfeeding.AIDS dsnt change genetic code.)
-Deteriorates the immunity system, due to the presence of that virus
-One with AIDS may have to go through a wide range of diseases and opportunistic
infection. Therefore, it is a syndrome.
-It occurs long after the person actually had acquired the HIV
Therefore, the main difference between HIV and AIDS is, the HIV infected person is
not considered an AIDS patient until he succumbs to the failure of the immune
system of the body. At the final stage of HIV infection, the cd4 cell count drops down
to below 200, and the person cannot fight the basic disease which a normal person
can easily combat.
HIV positive means, a person is just diagnosed with the HIV virus. It does not mean
the person has AIDS. HIV usually does not lead to AIDS until the patient starts
suffering from acute immunity problems. This process takes at least 10 to 12 years.
Many a time, a patient only bothers to get a HIV test done at a final stage, when the
frequency of occurrence of these diseases increases and the person cannot fight
them. A diagnosis at this stage, however, can be too late!
Many doctors suggest getting a HIV test done, much before the acute symptoms of
AIDS are apparent. An early diagnosis may enable proper antiretroviral therapy or
other appropriate medications. Even if someone is diagnosed with HIV, with the help
of proper medication, one may delay the time required for reaching the final stage.
Therefore, one should be aware of the difference between HIV and AIDS, as HIV is
not deadly in every diagnosed case.
World HIV AIDS Day is observed on 1st December every year.
Dr.(Mrs.)Tanya Srivastava
w/o Maj.Yash Srivastava
E-102.