HIV

Question 1

how is HIV transmitted?

5

Answer 1

• unprotected sex
• drug addicts
• blood transfusion
• pregnancy
• non-sterile instruments

Question 2

how do you test for HIV? what are you testing for?

4

Answer 2

• rapid tests
• oral fluid tests
• dried blood tests
• ELISA - enzyme-linked immunosuppressant assay
  testing for HIV-1 antibodies

Question 3

describe the diagnosis of HIV

Answer 3

• CD4 T cells start to decrease
• HIV RNA start to increase rapidly - exponentially
• 10 days later, p24 antigen found in HIV particles start to increase rapidly
• HIV antibodies are produced after 20 days and the numbers of HIV RNA and p24 antibody start to decrease
• HIV antibody starts to decrease around 40 days
• p24 antigen decreases and disappears but HIV RNA levels out
• HIV antibody levels start to increase around 45 days later along with CD4 T cells
• CD4 T cells start to decrease again after around 90 days

Question 4

what is antiretroviral treatment (ART)?

2

Answer 4

• long term medical treatment but not cure
• suppresses the virus and prevents disease from progressing

Question 5

what is PrEP?

Answer 5

pre-exposure prophylaxis
* pill given to people who do not have HIV but are at risk to stop them from getting HIV

Question 6

what is the UNAIDS targets for ending HIV?

Answer 6

95-95-95 strategy
* >95% of people aware of their HIV status
* >95% of those people on HIV treatment
* >95% of those people virally suppressed

Question 7

describe the structure of HIV

Answer 7

• lipid envelope with embedded transmembrane glycoproteins (GP41) with GP120 attached - responsible fro attachment to host
• matrix protein (p17) and major structural protein (p24) below the envelope and nuclear capsid protein (p7) which is cound to RNA
• 2 strands of RNA with reverse transcriptase enzymes

Question 8

describe the HIV lifestyle

5

Answer 8

1. HIV releases genetic material in CD4 cell
2. reverse transcriptase copies **RNA to DNA **
3. viral DNA enters the CD4 cell nucleus and into the cell DNA
4. many copies of the viral RNA and proteins are made
5. new viral particles **assemble and bud from the cell **

Question 9

what is the definition of AIDS?

Answer 9

the presence of one of 25 conditions indicative of severe immunosuppression OR an individual with a CD4+ cell count of <200 cells per mm3 of blood

Question 10

what are the oral HIV indicator conditions?

3

Answer 10

• group 1 - lesions** strongly associated** with HIV infection
• group 2 - lesions** less commonly associated** with HIV infection
• group 3 - lesions seen in HIV infection

Question 11

what are examples of HIV oral indicator conditions associated with group 1?

5

Answer 11

• oral candidosis
• hairy leukaemia
• kaposi leukaemia
• non-hodgkin’s lymphoma
• periodontal disease