Effects of Aids on Human Immune System

Student’s Name

Institution

Effects of Aids on Human Immune System

Acquired immune deficiency syndrome has immensely spread throughout the world’s population since the early 1980’s leading to the demise of many people, even though the mortality rate has declined with the advancement in its treatment. The Human immunodeficiency virus is the causative agent of Aids, and it is transmitted through the exchange of body fluids either through blood transfusion, sexual intercourse and sharing of sharp objects with an infected person. HIV being an inimitable virus have the capability of affecting the immune system of human body altering its functionality. The target cells of HIV in the human immune system are the T helper cells commonly referred to as the CD4 cells. The virus eventually kills the CD4 cells which play an essential role in regulating the immune responses when it comes to preventing the body from microorganisms’ invasion. Lack of medication is hazardous to human health as more than ten billion HIV viruses are produced per day if the infected person is not treated. The higher the replication of the virus in the human body the more the CD4 cells are progressively lost, and this can last for few years or a decade if proper medication is not adhered to by the patient.

The destruction of the T helper cells weakens the infected individual’s immune system making him or her vulnerable to the opportunistic infections which emerge to be the primary threat to human health at the late stage of the epidemic. Typical people who have regular health conditions are not prone to the opportunistic infections which in many instances are the cause of death to the individuals who have HIV and Aids (Deusch, et al 2018). After a few weeks of disease, the initial stage of HIV known as acute infection stage. The severe symptoms that might be experienced in this stage include fever, sore throat, headache, joint pain, and diarrhea. The subsequent stage is clinical latent infection condition which may last for about eight to ten years, and the T helper cells reduce more radically. Aids is the fatal stage of HIV infection, and it can only be diagnosed when the CD4 count has fallen below two-hundred as well as when the infected person has developed severe opportunistic infections. With proper health care, HIV infection does not extend into the final stage commonly referred to as the full brown stage where the patient is believed to have Aids.

With the advancement of technology in the medical field, the scientists have been able to develop drugs to prevent the spread of HIV in the human body through the study of the virus life cycle and how it damages the immune system. Development of new drugs to prevent the diseases reduced the decrease rate currently making Aids a common illness that does not substantially affect human health and infected people workability in the world today. The commonly used medication to treat HIV and Aids are the antiretroviral drugs, even though the patients tend to develop resistance against the medicines naturally. Currently, the scientists have discovered the new class antiretroviral drugs known as Trogarzo which significantly works well for the patients who undergoes HIV treatment (Ortega, et al. 2015). Drugs such as protease inhibitors and nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors can also play a significant role in maintaining good health condition by restoring immune system and controlling the replication of the virus.

The new drugs invented after the research advancement in the modern world have increased the life expectancy of people living with HIV and Aids. With proper medication, an infected person can live to an average of fifty-one years compared to the earlier era where the patient could only live for about twelve years, and it is all after the development of the acute stage. It signifies that currently, the survivability rate of people infected with HIV is more than eighty percent with proper medication and healthcare where one has to feed on a balanced diet properly.

Work Cited

Deusch, S., Serrano-Villar, S., Rojo, D., Martínez-Martínez, M., Bargiela, R., Vázquez-Castellanos, J. F., … & Gosalbes, M. J. (2018). Effects of HIV, antiretroviral therapy and prebiotics on the active fraction of the gut microbiota. Aids, 32(10), 1229-1237.

Ortega, M., Brier, M. R., & Ances, B. M. (2015). Effects of HIV and Combination Antiretroviral Therapy (cART) on cortico-striatal functional connectivity. AIDS (London, England), 29(6), 703.