Aids Flashcards
What is AIDS?
AIDS is a disorder in which the person cannot make antibodies.
What causes AIDS?
AIDS is a disorder in which the person cannot make antibodies. This is due to infection with HIV.
AIDS is a disorder in which the person cannot make antibodies.
What causes this?
This is due to infection with HIV
How does HIV enter the body?
HIV enters the body in fluids such as blood and semen.
Give some examples of how HIV can enter the body?
The most common methods of transmission are:
sexual intercourse,
infected blood products and shared needles
It can also be passed from mother to child across the placenta or in breast milk.
What are the ways that HIV cannot be transmitted?
HIV is not contracted by touching, embracing, kissing where saliva is not exchanged, sharing utensils such as cups or from toilet seats.
What does the virus do once it has entered the body?
Once the virus enters the body, it may enter a white blood cell and either remain dormant and produce no effects, or disable the white blood cell.
Can the infected person be identified as having HIV when the virus is dormant?
When the virus is dormant a person can be identified as having HIV by testing his/her blood for antibodies against HIV.
When the HIV antibodies are present, is a person HIV-positive?
If these antibodies are present, it indicates that the person has the virus, and is said to be HIV-positive.
When is a person HIV positive?
If these antibodies are present, it indicates that the person has the virus, and is said to be HIV-positive.
Do HIV antibodies disable the virus when present?
Unfortunately, these antibodies do not disable the virus. This is because the virus mutates (changes) very rapidly to a different form.
What blood cells are affected by HIV?
The type of white blood cell affected by HIV is a lymphocyte called a helper T cell.
What does HIV do to helper T cells?
The virus disables these cells, which results in the person being unable to produce antibodies.
What is the result of not producing antibodies?
The result of not producing antibodies is that the ability to resist infection is severely reduced.
The result of not producing antibodies is that the ability to resist infection is severely reduced.
Consequently, what do AIDS sufferers die of?
Consequently, AIDS sufferers die of opportunistic infections (e.g. pneumonia), which they would normally be able to fight off.
