HIV

What is HIV?
HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) is a virus that attacks and breaks down the human body's immune system over time. The immune system is the body's internal defense mechanism. It's main function is to fight off infections and disease. As time goes on, HIV causes the immune system to become more and more weak, which in turn causes the body to lose it's ability to fight off illness. This may lead to serious, often life-threatening, infections and cancers.
HIV can eventually lead to AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome), which is the condition that people have if they develop a serious infection or disease connected with HIV.

What are Symptoms?
Most people who are infected with HIV do not notice symptoms for many years. An infected individual may experience flu-like symptoms shortly after transmission of the virus. These are considered acute symptoms. Other symptoms may include the following:

• Rapid unexplained weight loss
• Dry cough
• Chronic headache
• Diarrhea that lasts more than a week
• Chronic yeast infections or oral thrush (yeast infection of the mouth)
• Recurring fever and/or night sweats
• Muscle and joint pain
• Sore throat
• Extreme and unexplained fatigue
• Swollen lymph glands in the armpits, groin or neck
• Unexplained body rashes
• White spots or unusual blemishes on the tongue, in the mouth or in the throat
• Appearance of purplish blotches (lesions) on the skin

How is HIV transmitted?
HIV is spread by sexual contact, especially anal, with an infected person, by sharing needles and/or syringes (primarily for drug injection) with someone who is infected, or through blood transfusions. The latter is not common in countries where blood is screened. Babies born to HIV-infected women may become infected before or during birth or through breastfeeding after birth.

Testing for HIV
The only way to know if you are infected is to be tested for HIV. There are 2 different tests we use to detect HIV infection. The length of time that has passed since a potential exposure is important in deciding which test should be taken. If you are experiencing any of the above mentioned symptoms or have engaged in any of the above types of contact, call now to schedule an HIV test. We will help you decide the right testing at the right time.

HIV ELISA Test
The test most commonly used to diagnose HIV infection is the ELISA (or EIA, enzyme-linked immunoassay). The ELISA test is one that detects HIV antibodies. Antibodies are special proteins produced by your immune system to help your body fight the infection. HIV antibodies are present in the blood and, in lower concentrations, in other body fluids such as saliva, sweat, semen and vaginal fluid. The ELISA antibody test should not be taken unless the most recent contact of concern has been at least 6 weeks ago. Otherwise, the test results may not be accurate. Most people develop detectable HIV antibodies within 6 to 12 weeks of infection. In very rare cases, it can take up to 6 months. It is exceedingly unlikely that someone would take longer than 6 months to develop antibodies.

Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) Test
The PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) test, also known as a viral load test, can detect the genetic material of HIV rather than the antibodies of the virus. The PCR test may be done in the days or weeks after exposure to the virus. The earliest the test can be performed is 3 days following the most recent contact of concern. However, the test is not conclusive until 28 days have passed. On average, the PCR will detect the genetic material at 1 to 2 weeks after exposure. Genetic material may be found even if other tests are negative for the virus. The PCR test is very useful for detecting a recent infection and to determine if an HIV infection is present when antibody test results are uncertain.

Treatment
There is no cure for HIV, but there are medications used for treatment. HIV is a retrovirus. Drugs developed to disrupt the action of HIV are known as antiretrovirals or ARVs. The treatment consists of drugs that have to be taken every day for the rest of a person's life. The aim of antiretroviral treatment is to slow the replication of the virus and keep the amount of HIV in the body at a low level. This helps to limit the weakening of the immune system and allows it to recover from any damage that HIV may have already caused. There are currently more than 20 approved antiretroviral drugs. HIV mutates rapidly, which makes it extremely skilful at developing resistance to drugs. To minimize this risk, people with HIV are generally treated with a combination of ARVs that attack the virus on several fronts at once.