About HIV:About HIV: A teaching toolA teaching tool©© 2nd edition 2006 2nd edition 2006
This tool was developed by the François-Xavier Bagnoud Center at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ),
with the support of the Pediatric AIDS Clinical Trials Group.
Excerpts from this publication may be freely reproduced or
adapted with acknowledgement of the source, provided the
material reproduced is for non-for-profit educational purposes only.
Send comments or questions to: [email protected]
Learn about:Learn about:
HIV The immune
system CD4 cells Checking how the
immune system is working
Viral load Why some people
with HIV are well and others are very sick
How you get HIV
CD4 cellsCD4 cells
CD4 cell are destroyed after HIV uses them to make more HIV.
The body’s immune system works hard making more CD4 cells.
©2002 Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH
Normal CD4 Counts in ChildrenNormal CD4 Counts in Children
Normal CD4 counts in children vary widely by age.
In children less than 5 years of age, instead of measuring the number of CD4 cells,CD4 percentage (%) is used to determine how much damage has been done to the immune system
Viral load testViral load test
The amount of HIV in an infected patient’s blood can be measured. It is called the viral load.
The viral load testshows how muchvirus is present in
the body.
Understanding Understanding viral loadviral load
LOW viral load is less than 10,000 copies.
HIGH viral load is more than 10,000 copies.
Antibodies signal infectionAntibodies signal infection
Antibodies are special proteins in the blood made by the immune system to fight a specific infection.
People with HIV usually develop HIV antibodies 4–6 weeks after being infected. In some cases, it may take as long as 3 months for antibodies to develop.
To find out if a person has been infected with the virus, an HIV test is done that finds and measures antibodies in blood.
A person whose blood test results shows HIV infection is HIV-positive.
A person whose bloodtest does not show HIV infection is HIV-negative
Early stages of HIV InfectionEarly stages of HIV Infection
HIV enters the cell
©2002 Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH©2002 Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH
HIV uses parts of the CD4 cell to make more virus (replicate). During this process the CD4 cell is destroyed.
Viral load and CD4 cellsViral load and CD4 cells
Eventually, the immune systemis unable to make enough CD4 cells to replace the ones killedby HIV.
The immune system getsweaker and disease symptoms may develop (symptomatic HIV infection).
As the viral load goes up,the number of CD4 cellsgoes down.
A Acquired—not inheritedIImmuno—attacks the immune systemD Deficiency— destroys CD4 cellsS Syndrome—a group of symptoms or illnesses
AIDSAIDS
HIV can be transmitted fromHIV can be transmitted fromone person to another by:one person to another by:
The risk of HIV transmission The risk of HIV transmission through sex can be reduced by:through sex can be reduced by:
Learn about:Learn about:
Highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART)
How HAART works Adherence Resistance Side effects Why HAART sometimes doesn’t work well
Goals of ARV therapyGoals of ARV therapy
Lower the amount of HIV in the blood
Save CD4 cells and allow the immune system to recover
AdherenceAdherence
Doctors, nurses,counsellors, family andfriendsprovidesupport fortaking medicines.
Side effectsSide effects
Most side effects are mild and temporary, but others are more serious.
If side effects occur—talk to your clinician.
Treatment failureTreatment failure
Missed doses Viral resistance Medicines not taken due to side effects Other medicines interfere Advanced HIV disease
For antiretroviral therapy (ART) For antiretroviral therapy (ART) to succeed…to succeed… Keep all clinic appointments so clinicians can
check your health In between appointments, report any changes in
health right away. If a dose of an ARV medicine is missed, take the
missed dose as soon as possible. But if it is close to the time when the next dose will be taken, don’t take the dose you missed, Two doses should never be taken at the same time.
For ART to succeed…For ART to succeed…
If vomiting occurs fewer than 30 minutes after taking a dose, repeat the dose. If the repeat dose is vomited, contact the clinician.
If side effects occur, discuss them with the clinician.
Do not stop taking ARV medicines, and do not start any new medicine or home remedy without first discussing changes with the clinician.