SEX-RELATED DISEASES: THE AIDS VIRUS (HIV)
Posted on Mar 30, 2009 under Men's Health-Erectile Dysfunction | No CommentAIDS is caused by the human immune deficiency virus, always referred to as HIV, of which there are two types – HIV I which causes most infections and HIV II which is found in parts of Africa. The latter appears to be more benign.
Where HIV came from is not known but it made its appearance in the US and Europe in the mid ’70s. Recent evidence suggests that it existed in monkeys in Africa before this but in a form harmless to man. Some people think that some 15 to 20 or more years ago it changed its properties, that is, mutated, and acquired its present capacity to infect and harm humans.
The virus is not very infectious and is passed from one person to another only by infection either through the skin, as in drug abuse, blood transfusions or cuts; or through vaginal or anal penetration. Once it is securely established in the body it begins to reproduce but this provokes the body’s defences to take steps against it. One of these is the eventual production of antibodies which destroy the virus. However, some of the viruses avoid these defences, probably by hiding away in the bone marrow and brain. These hidden viruses then gradually destroy the body’s immune system, hence the name of the virus and the disease. As the immune system is destroyed, the victim loses the capacity for defence against all kinds of infections with other organisms which are usually dealt with easily. The infected person is often well until this final stage is reached, which takes several years and sometimes it is only when things get this serious that it is realised the individual was infected with HIV years before. It is this illness which comes in the final stage, when the immune system is immobilised, which is called AIDS.
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