Human papillomavirus (HIV) is a virus that attacks the immune system. It kills the immune cells called CD4 cells. Once the virus kills the immune cells, the body will be prone to infections and diseases. HIV is transmitted through blood, breast milk, semen, vagina and rectal fluids.

It is most often sexually transmitted, but it can also be spread through childbirth, pregnancy, and sharing of sharp objects. The virus isn’t transmitted through air, close contact or water because it inserts into the DNA of a cell; it is a lifelong condition that currently has no cure. 

If HIV is left untreated after many years, the immune system will become very weak, and it can lead to AIDS. 

Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is a chronic, life-threatening disease caused by HIV. However, HIV doesn’t always lead to AIDS. 

In healthy adults, the normal count of CD4 cells is 500 to 1600 cells per cubic millimetre, but if a person with HIV goes below 200 CD4 cells per cubic millimetre, they will be diagnosed with AIDS. Also, a person can be diagnosed with AIDS if they have HIV and an opportunistic infection or cancer.

It takes up to a decade for HIV to develop into aids, but after it becomes AIDS, the life expectancy is about 3 years. This can be reduced by various opportunistic infections.

Antiviral drugs can stop HIV from progressing to AIDS. Still, if it progresses, AIDS can allow a wide range of illnesses, such as oral thrush, tuberculosis, pneumonia, toxoplasmosis, etc., to enter the body and cause problems.  

Causes 

The human papillomavirus causes HIV, and it attacks the immune system, making it too weak to fight against illnesses and diseases. Then AIDS is caused by HIV. 

Symptoms of HIV/AIDS

The symptoms of HIV are in different stages, and they are numerous, but a person may only experience a few of them.

Primary Infection (acute HIV)

The early symptoms of HIV in this stage are usually mild, or you may not even notice them. However, there is a high amount of the virus in your bloodstream (viral load) at this time, so the infection spreads more quickly. The symptoms include.

• Fever.
• Rash.
• Headache.
• Muscle aches and joint pain.
• Diarrhea.
• Sore throat and painful mouth sores.
• Cough.
• Weight loss.
• Night sweats.
• Swollen lymph nodes.

Clinical Latent Infection (Chronic HIV)

In this stage, HIV is still present in the body, but some people may not have symptoms, so this stage can last for many years and can be sustained if you are taking antiretroviral therapy (ART).

If there are symptoms in this stage, they will include all the symptoms of the primary infection and some more severe symptoms like pneumonia, shingles, oral yeast infection (thrush), and fatigue.

Progression to AIDS

If HIV gets past the clinically latent phase, it will progress to AIDS, which means the immune system has been severely damaged; symptoms include:

• Chills.
• Sweats.
• Chronic diarrhoea.
• Weakness.
• Swollen lymph nodes.
• Persistent unexplained fatigue.
• Weight loss.
• Recurring fever.
• Skin rash or lumps.
• Persistent white spots in the mouth or tongue. 

Treatment

After diagnosis, treatment for HIV should begin immediately. There is currently no cure for the disease, but treatment can help a person live a long life. The medications for HIV treatment are called antiretroviral drugs or therapy (ART); regardless of the stage of the disease, once you are diagnosed with HIV, you should start the treatment immediately.

The classes of anti-HIV drugs include:

• Nucleoside or nucleotide reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs).
• Integrase inhibitors.
• Protease inhibitors (PIs).
• Entry or fusion inhibitors.
• Non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs).