CPT2: HIV Flashcards
What virus causes HIV?
What is the characterisitics of this virus?
- Human immunodeficiency virus
- Retrovirus - single stranded RNA
A retrovirus is a type of virus that inserts a copy of its RNA genome into the DNA of a host cell that it invades, thus changing the genome of that ce
What can result if HIV is left untreated?
nInfection with HIV (eventually) results in AIDS & AIDS-related illnesses
What are routes of transmission?
Verical or horizontal transmission:
- Horrizontal - person to person transmission
- Vertical - Mother to child
Horizontal Transmission
- Sexual intercourse without condom
- Blood contamination
- Sharing injection equipment
- Contaminated blood transfusions or organ transplants
Verical Transmission:
- Breast Feeding
- Prenattaly during labour
- Why have cases in HIV decreased
- What have HIV deaths decreased?
- Better education, early treatment
- Better and more affordable medication
What is normally checked after a newly diagnosed HIV?
What are normal levels?
What do levels tell?
- CB4 is checked to measure immune status
- Normal - 800-1500 cells/mm3
Less than 350 cells/mm3 - Risk of developing AIDs related illness and mortality higher
What is the united nations aid groups aim?
The United Nations AIDS group. Has come up with a target called 1990 nineteen.
The aim is to have 90 percent of people living with HIV. Being diagnosed. Ninety percent of those who are diagnosed receiving antiretroviral therapy. And 90 percent of those will have an undetectable viral load.
What is the life expectancy of someone with HIV and someone without?
If diagnosed with HIV and therapy started early enough life exp is almost the same
What is the structure of HIV like?
Glycoproteins important in receptor (CD4?) attachemnet
What are the main stages in the lifecyle of HIV?
- Binding
- Fusion
- Reverse transcription
- Integration
- Replication
- Assembly
- Budding
Describe each step
How do clinical manifestations differ?
A patient infected with HIV will have a primary HIV infection – seroconversion ie HIV antibody production.
Following this Patients classified into 3 groups:
- Asymptomatic
- Symptomatic – specific & non-specific symptoms
- AIDS – AIDS-defining illness
Clinical manifestations depend on group patient is classed into.
Describe the infection process
Patient infected at week 0. The body doesnt start producing HIV until about 3 weeks. This period is called the window period - HIV test may be negative but patient is still being infected.
Viral starts replicating and viral load rises and CD4 falls and by week 6 the viral load has peaked. The patient has developed primary HIV or seroconversion illness. This is a non-specific illness with symptoms e.g. sore throat, rash (improve in few day), cold, lymphones enlarged.
By week 9 HIV levels are low and CD4 rising again - the immune system has produced AB and is fighting the infection.
Patient enters latency period - immune system has virus uncontrol.
Overtime virus mutations so HIV load raises again and CD4 decreases. The immune systes AB are no longer effective. Patient experiences non-specific symptoms and is called a clinical indicator disease.
If CD4 levels lower below 350 cells/mm3 then they are at risk of developing AID related illness and dying.
What are other clinical indicator illnesses?
Herpes Zoster, Psorasis, oral thrush, STDs
What monitoring is involved in patients with HIV?
- Initial diagnosis
- CD4 count (cells/mm3)
- (normal: 800-1500 cells/mm3)
- Plasma viral load (copies/ml)
- Surrogate markers of disease progression & to measure efficacy of treatment
- Routine monitoring every 3-6 months
- (after viral load undetectable - less than 36copies/ml)
- For first few months monitor closesly until plasma viral load becomes undetectable
Who does the BHIVA (2015) reccomend treatment too?
- All people diagnosed with chronic HIV
- All people presenting with AIDS-defining illnesses or co-infections
- All patients diagnosed with primary HIV infection should be offered treatment
- All pregnant women diagnosed with HIV