What
Is the difference between HIV and
AIDS?The
quick answer is that the difference between HIV and AIDS is that HIV is a virus and AIDS is a
definition.
What does HIV stand
for?
HIV stands for the "human immunodeficiency virus." In other words,
it is a virus that infects human being and leads to problems with
their immune system. The immune system is the body's system for fighting
disease.
AIDS and HIV
Understanding what it means to be HIV positive is relatively simple
-- either you are infected with the virus or you aren't -- but how
do you understand AIDS? AIDS, which stands for "Acquired Immune
Deficiency Syndrome" is a way of describing a whole group of
symptoms and diseases associated with the damage HIV does to the
immune system. As an HIV infection progresses, there is ongoing
damage to immune defense cells and the body becomes increasingly
less able to fight off infection. This means that individuals with
advanced HIV disease are susceptible to infections that don't show
up in people with healthy immune systems. They are called
opportunistic infections because they take advantage of the
weakened ability of an HIV positive individual to fight off
disease. The difference between AIDS and HIV is that a person is
said to have AIDS, as opposed to simply being HIV positive, when
either the numbers of specific types of cells in their immune
system drop below a certain level or when they develop one of a
specific group of opportunistic
infections.
It is important to know that a person can live with HIV for many
years without developing AIDS or any symptoms of HIV infection.
This is why it is important to be regularly tested for the virus.
Even if a person does not know they are infected, however, they can
still transmit the virus to other people through unprotected sex
and other risky behaviors that directly expose other people to
their blood, semen, breast milk, and other potentially infectious
bodily fluids. HIV is not spread through casual contact. |
