Human Immunodeficiency Virus

     HIV is a retrovirus and it attacks the immune system by invading T helper cells. It contains an enzyme called reverse transcriptase that aids it in making DNA with the RNA that it has. After several years, approximately 11 years, clinical symptoms of AIDS will start to appear. This is because HIV is also a lentivirus, which basically means that it is a slow occurring virus. The HIV molecule has gp 120 proteins surrounding the molecule and bind to CD4 proteins on the T helper cell. This is rather strange because it seems as if the CD4 protein acts as a receptor for the HIV molecule. Once the HIV molecule is inside the T helper cell, it injects all of its infected material. The T helper cell ends up making copies of the HIV molecule and the immune system responds by producing cytotoxic CD8 T cells. This ultimately results in a war for the immune system because it fights itself between the virus infected CD4 T cells and the cytotoxic CD8 cells. There are various ways that HIV can be transmitted from one person to another.
For example:

•  anal sex
•  oral sex
•  vaginal sex
•  Exchange of blood 
•  Breast feeding 

     The reason these are all ways in which HIV can be transmitted is because HIV is found in semen, vaginal fluids, blood, and breast milk. Therefore, it can also be transmitted in other uncommon situations. For example, there have been cases where healthcare workers had been dealing with blood that was HIV positive and acquired the disease. Healthcare workers must be take proper precautions because it is critical for their life and the patient's.

Signs and Symptoms
In early stages of HIV signs and symptoms may include flu- like symptoms such as

• sore throat
• fever
• chills
• muscle ache
• fatigue

In more advanced stages of HIV, AIDS is usually diagnosed and includes:

• White spots on the tongue or mouth
• blurred vision
• shortness of breath
• diarrhea
• swollen glands

Pawlina, Wojciech. "Connective Tissue." Histology A Text and Atlas By Michael H. Ross. 6th ed. N..: n.p., n.d 455 Print.               The two main contributors listed for the 6th edition of this textbook, Wojciech Pawlina and Michael H. Ross.
"What Is AIDS? What Is HIV?" Medical News Today. MediLexicon International, 13 May 2012. Web. 27 Oct. 2013.