running head: The Human Immunodeficiency virus
The Human Immunodeficiency Virus

The Human Immunodeficiency Virus
The Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is a widely known disease. What is HIV and are people immune to it? Is a life-ending virus treatable and what are the symptoms to look out for? Actually, the virus is preventable with decisive decision making and taking proper safety precautions. With appropriate education and professional medical treatment, our society could reduce the murderous spreading of the HIV. HIV can be transmitted in many ways. The greatest spreading is through sexual intercourse. It can also be spread by contact with infected blood, drugs, from mother to child during pregnancy, childbirth, or breast-feeding.
The human immune system is made up of special cells, protein, tissues and organs. It defends people against germs and microorganisms every day. The cells in the immune system work to destroy disease-causing organisms and substances.
HIV enters a group of specific immune system's cells, called helper-T cells, and kills them. In turn, it weakens the immune system from carrying out everyday duties. In time, the body makes enough white blood cells to fight infections and bacteria critters, but once HIV sets in, the body just can’t fight anymore. HIV replicates too fast for antibodies to defeat. The virus will eventually become active and deadly. Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is the last deadly stage in HIV.
Once AIDS is activated it becomes detrimental to the body. The body can no longer produce helper-T cells to activate antibody B cells to fight off infestations. In most cases, AIDS isn’t the virus that kills; it’s a simple viral flu. At this point its imperative to stay condemned in a germ free environment for safety.
Thankfully, there are signs and symptoms for this terrible overpowering virus. Unfortunately, in most cases, people who are HIV positive don’t have symptoms of the horrifying disease. Often the infected only begin to feel sick when they progress towards AIDS. This is one reason this horrible virus continues to spread. Many people don’t develop symptoms when they first become infected with HIV. Some people, however, get a flu-like illness within three to six weeks after exposure to the virus. This illness, called Acute HIV Syndrome, may include fever, headache, tiredness, nausea, and diarrhea and enlarged lymph nodes (organs of the immune system that can be felt in the neck, armpits and groin). These symptoms usually disappear within a week to a month and are often mistaken for another viral infection (Daar, 2012).
Once the immune system has been infected, we could also experience lack of energy, weight loss, frequent fevers and sweats, persistent or frequent yeast infections, persistent skin rashes, flaky skin, and/or short term memory loss. These are just a few of many knowledgeable symptoms. If doubtful of symptoms, it’s recommended you visit your local health department and/or local hospital for further testing.
How can our society take preventive measures and prevent this disease from destroying lives? The virus is 100 percent preventable in many cases. Proper counseling, preventive measures, and yearly testing are fundamental for the virus avoidance. Truthfully, the number-one thing that isn’t favorable in today’s society is abstinence, although refusing sex until marriage is the safest preventive measure.
Drugs also play a big part in spreading this plaque of illness. Injecting substances into your body without medical supervision can be extremely dangerous. Drug paraphernalia can be reused and infected. It’s wise to have a substantial amount of knowledge on this issue. Knowledge is power; in this case HIV negative. Treatment for HIV patients is urgent. Without professional treatment, this disease will become fatal sooner than forecasted. Prolonging medical treatment and medication will only worsen the infection. The average virus