| Chapter 1: | Introduction |
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immune system cells that help the body to fight disease. A normal person is expected to have a CD4 cell count of about between 600 and 1,200. Anyone with AIDS has HIV. However, one may have HIV without having AIDS. HIV/AIDS may be better understood with a description of disease progression that results from the destruction of CD4 cells. That is, after HIV enters the human body, it needs to make copies of itself. Because HIV is a retrovirus, it can only replicate itself within a host’s cell. Therefore, in order to make copies of itself, HIV chooses and enters the CD4 cell (sometimes referred to as the T-cell), destroying it in the process of replication. When HIV enters the body and begins to destroy the CD4 cells, disease progression partially characterized by the CD4 cell count is often grouped in four stages based on clinical standards. The first stage begins at HIV infection, and it may last for a few weeks. This stage is usually characterized by manifestations of flu-like symptoms. During this stage, the HIV viral load is high, but the immune system is strong and it normally responds to the CD4 cell destruction by producing antibodies to fight the virus. As the virus continues to destroy the CD4 cells, HIV infection progresses to the clinical asymptomatic stage, which may last as long as 10 years based on one’s health, sexual lifestyle, and economic status. For instance, disease progression from HIV to AIDS may be faster if the infected has other poor health conditions, engages in unsafe sexual practices such as having sex with multiple partners without regularly using a condom, or lacks access to a good diet. During the second stage, no significant symptoms are manifested, and although the destruction of the CD4 cells continues, antibodies continue to fight off HIV. Continuous destruction of the CD4 cells by HIV leads to stage 3, referred to as the symptomatic stage, in which the CD4 cell count may have fallen to about between 350 and 200. During this stage, the immune system can no longer keep up with the fight against the HIV destruction of the CD4 cells or other illnesses as a result of years of deterioration. This is when symptoms, some of which may be severe, begin to be manifested as opportunistic illnesses. Some of the symptoms during stage 3 include but are not limited to severe weight loss, chronic diarrhea, persistent fever, persistent oral candidiasis, oral