Krishnan's Blog

HIV is the virus that causes AIDS . H - Human: because this virus can only infect human beings. I - Immuno-deficiency: because the effect of the virus is to create a deficiency, a failure to work properly, within the body's immune system. V - Virus: because this organism is a virus, which means one of its characteristics is that it is incapable of reproducing by itself. It reproduces by taking over the machinery of the human cell. A - Acquired: because it's a condition one must acquire or get infected with; not something transmitted through the genes I - Immune: because it affects the body's immune system, the part of the body which usually works to fight off germs such as bacteria and viruses D - Deficiency: because it makes the immune system deficient (makes it not work properly) S - Syndrome: because someone with AIDS may experience a wide range of different diseases and opportunistic infections. See Also How Can I tell if I am affec...

WHAT DOES "AIDS" MEAN? AIDS stands for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome: * Acquired means you can get infected with it; * Immune Deficiency means a weakness in the body's system that fights diseases. * Syndrome means a group of health problems that make up a disease. AIDS is caused by a virus called HIV, the Human Immunodeficiency Virus. If you get infected with HIV, your body will try to fight the infection. It will make "antibodies," special molecules to fight HIV. A blood test for HIV looks for these antibodies. If you have them in your blood, it means that you have HIV infection. People who have the HIV antibodies are called "HIV-Positive." Being HIV-positive, or having HIV disease, is not the same as having AIDS. Many people are HIV-positive but don't get sick for many years. As HIV disease continues, it slowly wears down the immune system. Viruses, parasites, fungi and bacteria that usually don't cause any problems can make you very si...