What does the AIDS virus attack?

Answer 1

HIV destroys a certain kind of blood cell which is crucial to the normal fucntion of the immune system.

HIV: Skin Effects

Several of the main skin conditions that affect people with HIV are caused by viruses most people already have in their bodies. However, these viruses typically do not cause disease in people whose immune systems are healthy. Some of the more common dermatological, or skin, effects of HIV include: Varicella zoster virus (VZV) infection, Herpes simplex virus (HSV), Kaposi’s sarcoma (KS)

HIV: Oral Health Problems

HIV infection can also cause oral health problems that are rare in uninfected people, including: Candidiasis, Periodontal disease, Herpes simplex virus

HIV: Neurological Effects

Although HIV does not appear to infect nerve cells, it does somehow affect their ability to function normally. People with HIV can experience:

AIDS-related dementia

A decrease in the ability to think properly and process information

Brain tumors that either begin in the brain or spread to the brain from elsewhere in the body

Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML), which is caused by a virus most people are already infected with, but does not cause disease in people with healthy immune systems. Symptoms include difficulty walking and talking, weakness in the limbs, and seizures.

HIV: Weight Effects and Wasting Syndrome

A big concern for people who has HIV that has progressed to AIDS is AIDS wasting syndrome, which is defined as any unintentional weight loss of 10 percent or more of your body weight. HIV patients may lose muscle as well as fat, and once lost, the weight is difficult to regain. The person may also have diarrhea and a slight fever. These symptoms are usually accompanied by a complete loss of appetite.

Answer 2

Once HIV enters the body, it gets attached to a type of white blood cell called T lymphocyte (which is the T cell in the human body's protection against infections). The RNA (genetic material) of the virus then gets converted to DNA (genetic material) by an enzyme that the virus produces. This viral DNA then gets incorporated into the DNA of the human cell (T lymphocyte), and remains there for the lifetime of that cell.

Answer 3

AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) is a diagnosis, not a disease. HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) is the virus that causes someone to develop AIDS. HIV uses the cells that fight disease (T-lymphocytes, macrophages and dendritic) to replicate.

Answer 4

The answer is a complex one, purely because the process of the HIV virus attacking a cell is extremely complex. The following is the procedure simplified:

1) HIV enters the blood system

2) HIV finds the T cells

3) HIV attaches itself to the special receptor site on the outside of the T cell

4) HIV releases its own RNA (molecule) into the T cell

5) The RNA converts itself into DNA (genetic code), and then inserts itself into the T cells own DNA

6) The HIV can hide in this DNA for weeks, months or even years as a "Pro-Virus" until it activates

7) Once it has activated, it then goes through a complex procedure where it replicates itself and then becomes protected by being individually wrapped/covered by part of the wall of the T cell, before then breaking loose to continue this procedure among other T cells.

Answer 5

After sexual infection, HIV usually remains localised in lymph nodes close to the infection site, where it uses a type of immune cell called a CD4 cell to reproduce. After about two weeks, HIV then bursts out form these enlarged lymph nodes and spread widely to all parts o the body establishing a systemic (throughout the body) infection. This is when flu-like symptoms often occur.

The body then controls HIV for most people, often over many years (commonly 2-10 years), but slowly the immune system becomes damaged. The CD4 cells are an important part of your immune system, but the virus gradually reduces them until the body is too weak to fight infections.

HIV treatment reverses this damage allowing CD4 cells to increase again. For people able to access treatment, HIV is now a manageable infection rather than a fatal illness.

Answer 6

The HIV virus attacks the immune system. Specifically it affects Helper T-cells.

Answer 7

The HIV virus attacks the immune system, specifically cells called T-helper or CD4 cells.

Answer 8

Immune system