A General Overview of The Human Immunodeficiency Virus

1. INTRODUCTION

The Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) forms part of the genus Lentivirus, which itself forms part of the family Retroviridae. The virus is the cause of the disease called Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS), which primarily results in a decline in the hosts immune system, making the host susceptible to life-threatening infections and diseases. HIV may be sub-divided into two separate types namely, HIV-1 and HIV-2. The difference between the two is mainly that HIV-1 is more easily transferred then the transfer rate of HIV-2, while the rest of the symptoms, characteristics, and outcomes are approximately the same. The virus occurs as a free floating virus particle as well as within infected immune cells such as CD4+ T-cells.

2. DISEASE PROGRESSION

Below is a General overview of how one could describe the progression of HIV

ACUTE INFECTION

CLINICAL LATENCY

AIDS

Figure 1: Overview of disease progression

The acute infection stage is often defined by acute retroviral syndrome (ARS), which is characterised by fever, lymphadenopathy, pharyngitis, skin rash, myalgias, and other common flu-like symptoms. These symptoms generally start occurring within the first 2-4 months of infection but could take up to 3-6 months to show. This stage of diagnosis is often written off as the common flu therefore necessary measures are not taken and a crucial point of defence against the HIV-1 virus, from a medical perspective, is overlooked.

Clinical latency, also known as asymptomatic HIV infection, is characterised by a lack of symptoms and an apparent healthy CD4+ T-cell count. The HIV-1 virus is still present and active during this period but a relatively stable viral load is maintained. This p...

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