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What is HIV/AIDS? AIDS is caused by HIV. HIV is the Human Immunodeficiency Virus; a lentivirus of a subgroup of retroviruses. HIV is a virus that gradually attacks the immune system cells. HIV damages the immune system cells making the body more vulnerable to infections, which the body will have difficulty fighting off. At the most advanced stage of HIV a person is said to have AIDS. AIDS stands for: Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. It can take time (few years) before the HIV damages the immune system to the extent that AIDS can develop. HIV infects cells in the immune system and the central nervous system. The main cell that the HIV targets and infects is the T helper Lymphocyte. These cells play a very crucial part in the immune system by coordinating the other immune system cells. A large reduction in these cells weakens the immune system greatly. Thus the body falls prey to many diseases. This infection can be graded into four stages. - Primary infection
- Clinically asymptomatic stage
- Symptomatic HIV infection
- Progression from HIV to AIDS
The first stage, Primary infection, of HIV lasts a few weeks and often people get a short flu like disease. During this stage the body’s immune system beings to respond by creating HIV antibodies and cytotoxic lymphocytes, known as Seroconversion. The second stage, Clinically asymptomatic, lasts for an average of about ten years. These ten years are mostly free from major symptoms although the glands might be swollen. Studies have shown that HIV is very active in the lymph nodes. The third stage, Symptomatic HIV infection, is the worsening of the HIV as it reaches near AIDS. Over time HIV mutates and becomes more stronger and varied leading to more T helper cell destruction. Along with that the body fails to keep up with replacing the T helper cells that are lost. As the immune system fails the body falls prey to infections that it normally would have defended against. The fourth stage is the progression of HIV to AIDS in which a person progresses from HIV to AIDS. This progression period is varies from person to person. The normal progression period can be 10-12 Years. | 
