What is AIDS?
Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome or AIDS is a set of symptoms caused by the HIV virus. It is in fact, the most advanced stage of infection caused by HIV. This disease modifies and corrupts the immune system, making people susceptible to infections and diseases. The susceptibility worsens as the syndrome progresses.
The names HIV and AIDS can be confusing because both terms describe the same disease.
However, people who are HIV-positive need not necessarily have AIDS.
An HIV-positive person becomes an AIDS patient when his or her immune system becomes extremely weak and non-resistant to various infections and diseases such as tuberculosis, candidiasis, meningitis, Toxoplasma gondii, PCP (a type of pneumonia), herpes simplex and herpes zoster. An AIDS patient can also be susceptible to cancers such as Kaposi’s sarcoma, lymphoma, and cervical cancer. They are also prone to wasting syndrome (involuntary weight loss), and memory impairment.
Most people with HIV however, can prevent AIDS by starting treatment (with medicines called antiretroviral therapy or ART) soon after becoming infected with the virus.
How does AIDS occur?
AIDS is the most advanced stage of HIV-positive infection that occurs when your immune system is irreparably damaged and you become vulnerable to what is known as opportunistic infections. Opportunistic infections are infections caused by pathogens (bacteria, viruses, fungi, or protozoa) and occur more often in people with weakened immune systems.
AIDs gets transmitted from an infected person to another through direct contact with bodily fluids such as:
- blood (including menstrual blood)
- semen / cum / precum / ejaculate
- vaginal secretions
- breast milk
The highest concentration of the virus is found in blood, followed by semen, followed by vaginal fluids, and then by breast milk.