HIV & AIDS

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HIV and AIDS

Facts

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HIV – Human Immunodeficiency Virus AIDS – Auto Immune Deficiency Syndrome

• HIV is the name given to a virus

• HIV affects your immune system (the way your body fights illness and infection)

• HIV stops your immune system from working properly so that your body can no longer defend itself. This is AIDS.

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What is a Virus?

Influenza (flu), Polio, Smallpox

Viruses are microbes

They consist of -

DNA or RNA (which hold the information about the virus, like your DNA)

A protein coat (to protect the DNA/RNA)

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How a virus ‘works’

A virus is a parasite which cannot reproduce on its own,

it needs another living thing to survive

It infects the cells of your body and ‘hijacks’ them

(Adsorption & Entry)

Your cells stop doing what they’re supposed to and

instead make copies of the virus

(Replication & Assembly)

The new viruses are released and go

on to infect other cells

(Release)

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Is It Alive?

Viruses have characteristics of living things but, in some ways, could be said to be non-living – what do you think?

Remember – Living things

- Move

- Reproduce

- Sense

- Grow

- Respire

- Get rid of waste

- Need energy

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How does it spread?

A virus needs to make its way from one ‘host’ to another

This can happen in different ways

Airborne

Transfer of body fluid

Through a ‘carrier’ (malaria)

HIV is transferred ONLY through transfer of body fluid

Can you think of any examples of body fluids that could spread HIV?

How much of each body fluid do you think needs to be transferred for someone to become infected with HIV?

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How does AIDS affect you?

HIV stops your immune system from working properly

This means an illness that is not very serious for you and me can become life threatening to someone with HIV

People do not die from AIDS, they die because their bodies cannot fight off infections from other disease-causing organisms

-pnuemonia

-tuberculosis

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