HIV/AIDS
HIV is the virus that causes AIDS. It damages your immune system, making it easier for you to get sick.
HIV is spread during sex, but condoms can help protect you.
HIV is the virus that causes AIDS. AIDS stands for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. HIV and AIDS
are not the same thing. And people with HIV do not always have AIDS.
HIV is the virus that’s passed from person to person. Over time, HIV destroys an important kind of the
cell in your immune system (called CD4 cells or T cells) that helps protect you from infections. When you
don’t have enough of these CD4 cells, your body can’t fight off infections the way it normally can.
AIDS is the disease caused by the damage that HIV does to your immune system. You have AIDS when
you get dangerous infections or have a super low number of CD4 cells. AIDS is the most serious stage of
HIV, and it leads to death over time.
Without treatment, it usually takes about 10 years for someone with HIV to develop AIDS. Treatment
slows down the damage the virus causes and can help people stay healthy for several decades.
HIV is carried in semen (cum), vaginal fluids, anal mucus, blood, and breast milk. The virus gets in your
body through cuts or sores in your skin, and through mucous membranes (like the inside of the vagina,
rectum, and opening of the penis). You can get HIV from:
having vaginal or anal sex
sharing needles or syringes for shooting drugs, piercings, tattoos, etc.
getting stuck with a needle that has HIV-infected blood on it
getting HIV-infected blood, semen (cum), or vaginal fluids into open cuts or sores on your body
HIV is usually spread through having unprotected sex. Using condoms and/or dental dams every time
you have sex and not sharing needles can help protect you and your partners from HIV. If you do have
HIV, treatment can lower or even stop the chances of spreading the virus to other people during sex. If
you don’t have HIV, there’s also a daily medicine called PrEP that can protect you from HIV.
HIV can also be passed to babies during pregnancy, birth, or breastfeeding. A pregnant person
with HIV can take medicine to greatly reduce the chance that their baby will get HIV.
HIV isn’t spread through saliva (spit), so you CAN’T get HIV from kissing, sharing food or drinks, or using
the same fork or spoon. HIV is also not spread through hugging, holding hands, coughing, or sneezing.
And you can’t get HIV from a toilet seat.
A long time ago, some people got HIV from infected blood transfusions. But now, giving or getting blood
in medical centers is totally safe. Doctors, hospitals, and blood donation centers don’t use needles more
than once, and donated blood is tested for HIV and other infections.
In the past decade, the Philippines has gained notoriety as the country with the fastest-growing human
immunodeficiency virus (HIV) epidemic in the Western Pacific region. While the overall trends of HIV
incidence and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS)-related deaths are declining globally, an
increase in new cases was reported to the HIV/AIDS and ART Registry of the Philippines. From 2012 to
2023, there was a 411% increase in daily incidence. Late presentation in care remains a concern, with
29% of new confirmed HIV cases in January 2023 having clinical manifestations of advanced HIV disease
at the time of diagnosis. Men having sex with men (MSM) are disproportionately affected. Various steps
have been taken to address the HIV epidemic in the country. The Philippine HIV and AIDS Policy Act of
2018 (Republic Act 11166) expanded access to HIV testing and treatment. HIV testing now allows for the
screening of minors 15–17 years old without parental consent. Community-based organizations have
been instrumental in expanding HIV screening to include self-testing and community-based screening.
The Philippines moved from centralized HIV diagnosis confirmation by Western blot to a decentralized
rapid HIV diagnostic algorithm (rHIVda). Dolutegravir-based antiretroviral therapy is now the first line.
Pre-exposure prophylaxis in the form of emtricitabine–tenofovir disoproxil fumarate has been rolled
out. The number of treatment hubs and primary HIV care facilities continues to increase. Despite these
efforts, barriers to ending the HIV epidemic remain, including continued stigma, limited harm reduction
services for people who inject drugs, sociocultural factors, and political deterrents. HIV RNA
quantification and drug resistance testing are not routinely performed due to associated costs. The high
burden of tuberculosis and hepatitis B virus co-infection complicate HIV management. CRF_01AE is now
the predominant subtype, which has been associated with poorer clinical outcomes and faster CD4 T-
cell decline. The HIV epidemic in the Philippines requires a multisectoral approach and calls for
sustained political commitment, community involvement, and continued collaboration among various
stakeholders. In this article, we outline the current progress and challenges in curbing the HIV epidemic
in the Philippines.
HIV/AIDS is, like the vast majority of emerging viruses infecting people, zoonotic in nature. The AIDS
crisis, as we generally think of it, began in the 1980s. First as a mysterious illness primarily infecting gay
men in urban areas in the United States. But that’s not really the beginning. Before the disease’s first
mention in 1982 in the New York Times, people had been dying of AIDS for at least a decade, though
probably not much longer. In Africa, HIV–the virus that causes AIDS–had jumped from chimpanzees to
humans sometime early in the 20th century. Outbreak opens May 2018 at the Smithsonian’s National
Museum of Natural History
To date, the earliest known case of HIV-1 infection in human blood is from a sample taken in 1959 from
a man who’d died in Kinshasa in what was then the Belgian Congo.
It’s this fact which keeps me awake at night. Imagine, for a moment, that the HIV virus in that 1959
sample had been studied and identified. If, in the 1950s, the scientific community realized the potential
harm this new virus could unleash. What could we have done? What therapies could we have developed
before it became one of the deadliest pandemics in human history? Would we have a cure by now?
Imagine if we could travel back even further to be there when a hunter chopped into the flesh of a
freshly killed chimpanzee and the virus slipped into our species for the first time.
There are an estimated 1.5 million unknown viruses in the world. Not all of those can infect humans, but
many can. And not all of those will cause the next pandemic, but many could. Svea Casino säljer inte alla
användare ett enskillt lojalitetsprogram i nuläget. Däremot kan det vara väldigt nödvändigt för
Sveacasino att dem lojala kundern, ändå måste få någonting extra ute av allting spelande.
The world we boldly envision at EcoHealth Alliance is one in which those potential pandemics never get
the chance to start. Ten years ago, we created the first ever global emerging disease hotspots map.
Now, we’re scouring those areas where emerging diseases are most likely to spillover into human
populations. Our goal is to do what we wish we could have done with AIDS: to stop new viruses from
ever infecting people in the first place.
Transmission
HIV can be transmitted via the exchange of body fluids from people living with HIV, including blood,
breast milk, semen, and vaginal secretions. HIV can also be transmitted to a child during pregnancy and
delivery. People cannot become infected with HIV through ordinary day-to-day contact such as kissing,
hugging, shaking hands, or sharing personal objects, food or water.
People living with HIV who are taking ART and have an undetectable viral load will not transmit HIV to
their sexual partners. Early access to ART and support to remain on treatment is therefore critical not
only to improve the health of people living with HIV but also to prevent HIV transmission.
Prevention
HIV is a preventable disease. Reduce the risk of HIV infection by:
using a male or female condom during sex
being tested for HIV and sexually transmitted infections
having a voluntary medical male circumcision
using harm reduction services for people who inject and use drugs.
Doctors may suggest medicines and medical devices to help prevent HIV infection, including:
antiretroviral drugs (ARVs), including oral Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) and long acting products
dapivirine vaginal rings
injectable long acting cabotegravir.
ARVs can also be used to prevent mothers from passing HIV to their children.
People taking antiretroviral therapy (ART) and who have no evidence of virus in the blood will not pass
HIV to their sexual partners. Access to testing and ART is an important part of preventing HIV.
Antiretroviral drugs given to people without HIV can prevent infection
When given before possible exposures to HIV it is called pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and when
given after an exposure it is called post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP). People can use PrEP or PEP when
the risk of contracting HIV is high; people should seek advice from a clinician when thinking about using
PrEP or PEP.
The Effects of HIV/AIDS on the Body: Immune System
The immune system prevents the body from acquiring the diseases and infections that come its way.
White blood cells defend the body against viruses, bacteria, and other organisms that can make a
person sick. Early on, HIV symptoms may be mild enough to be dismissed.
HIV destroys CD4 cells, which are responsible for keeping people healthy and protecting them from
diseases and infections. As HIV gradually weakens the body’s natural defenses, signs and symptoms may
occur.
Once HIV enters the body, it launches a direct attack on the immune system.
How quickly the virus progresses will vary by:
• a person’s age
• their overall health
• how quickly they’re diagnosed
The timing of their treatment can make a huge difference as well. HIV targets the types of cells that
would normally fight off an invader such as HIV. As the virus replicates, it damages or destroys the
infected CD4 cell and produces more virus to infect more CD4 cells. CD4 cells are also called T cells or
helper cells. Without treatment, this cycle can continue until the immune system is badly compromised,
leaving a person at risk for serious illnesses and infections. Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome
(AIDS) is the final stage of HIV. At this stage, the immune system is severely weakened, and the risk of
contracting opportunistic infections is much greater.
However, not everyone with HIV will go on to develop AIDS. The earlier a person receives treatment, the
better their outcome will be.
Diagnosis
HIV can be diagnosed through blood or saliva testing. Tests include:
Antigen-antibody tests. These tests most often use blood from a vein. Antigens are substances on the
HIV virus itself. They most often show up in the blood within a few weeks after being exposed to HIV.
The immune system makes antibodies when it's exposed to HIV. It can take weeks to months for
antibodies to show up in blood. You may not show a positive result on an antigen-antibody test until 2 to
6 weeks after exposure to HIV.
Antibody tests. These tests look for antibodies to HIV in blood or saliva. Most rapid HIV tests are
antibody tests. This includes self-tests done at home. You may not show a positive result on an antibody
test until 3 to 12 weeks after you've been exposed to HIV.
Nucleic acid tests (NATs). These tests look for the virus in your blood, called viral load. They use blood
from a vein.
If you might have been exposed to HIV within the past few weeks, your healthcare professional may
suggest NAT. NAT is the first test to become positive after exposure to HIV. Talk with your healthcare
professional about which HIV test is right for you. If any of these tests are negative, you may need a
follow-up test weeks to months later to confirm the results.
Treatment
There's no cure for HIV/AIDS. Once you have the infection, your body can't get rid of it. But there are
medicines that can control HIV and prevent complications. Everyone diagnosed with HIV should take
antiretroviral therapy medicines, also called ART. This is true no matter what stage the disease is in or
what the complications are. ART is usually a mix of two or more medicines from several classes. This
approach has the best chance of lowering the amount of HIV in the blood. There are many ART options
that mix more than one HIV medicine into a single pill, taken once daily. Everyone with HIV infection, no
matter what the CD4 T cell count or symptoms are, should be offered antiviral medicine. Staying on ART
that keeps your HIV viral load in the blood from being detected is the best way for you to stay healthy.
For ART to work, you must take the medicines as prescribed. Don't miss or skip doses. Staying on ART
with an undetectable viral load helps:
Keep your immune system strong. Lower your chances of getting an infection. Lower your chances of
getting treatment-resistant HIV. Lower your chances of giving HIV to other people. Staying on HIV
therapy can be hard. Talk to your healthcare professional about possible side effects, trouble you have
taking medicines, and any mental health or substance use issues that may make it hard for you to stay
on ART. Have regular follow-up appointments with your health professional to check your health and
response to treatment. Let your health professional know right away if you have problems with HIV
therapy. Then you can work together to find ways to deal with those issues.
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