Acquired Immuno Deficiency Syndrome

AIDS is a syndrome caused by the HIV virus. It is when a person’s immune system is too weak to fight off many infections, and develops when the HIV infection is very advanced. This is the last stage of HIV infection where the body can no longer defend itself and may develop various diseases, infections and if left untreated, death. There is currently no cure for HIV or AIDS. However, with the right treatment and support, people can live long and healthy lives with HIV.

1. It may cause influenza-like illness, tuberculosis, opportunistic infections and tumors, pneumocystis pneumonia, severe weight loss, Kaposi's sarcoma. The time period usually ranges from 6 months (rarely) to 15+ years. HIV infection passes through a series of steps or stages before it turns into AIDS. These stages of infection as outlined in 1993 by the Centers for Disease Control. Seroconversion illness – this occurs in 1 to 6 weeks after acquiring the infection. The feeling is similar to a bout of flu.

2. Asymptomatic infection – After seroconversion, virus levels are low and replication continues slowly. CD4 and CD8 lymphocyte levels are normal. This stage has no symptoms and may persist for years together.

3. Persistent generalised lymphadenopathy (PGL) – The lymph nodes in these patients are swollen for three months or longer and not due to any other cause.

4. Symptomatic infection – This stage manifests with symptoms. In addition, there may be opportunistic infections. This collection of symptoms and signs is referred to as the AIDS-related complex (ARC) and is regarded as a prodrome or precursor to AIDS.

From 1981 to 2010, 6579 HIV/AIDS cases were reported in an upward trend from 3.6 new HIV diagnoses/100 000 population in 1986 to 5.6 in 2010. Immigrants from countries of generalised epidemic (ICGE) comprised 2717 (41.3%) of all cases: 2089 (76.9%) were Israeli citizens and 628 (23%) were non-Israeli citizens, mostly migrant workers Between 1980 and 1992, 227 AIDS cases and 1,010 HIV seropositives were diagnosed in Israel, 222 AIDS cases and 965 seropositives occurring in persons aged 13 years and older. Among the AIDS cases, the predominant risk groups were male homo/bisexuals, intravenous drug abusers (IVDAs) and hemophiliacs. Excessive childhood mortality in sub-Saharan Africa is a tragic and familiar story. In the 1970s, >20% of children in Africa died before reaching 5 years of age, a rate higher than that in any other region in the world. When the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) epidemic hit in the 1980s and 1990s, infant mortality rates increased further in some of the worst-affected areas as mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) became an important component of the problem.

A new treatment that destroys HIV-infected human cells without damaging healthy ones has been developed by a team of Israeli researchers. The usual medications kill the virus that has entered the body during infection, and the [peptide] treatment allows cells infected with the genetic load of the virus to be killed Fortunately, a study has found out that a vaccine developed by scientists could just stand a chance against the dreaded disease.A team of researchers from the Hebrew University has developed a treatment that completely destroys HIV-infected human cells in laboratory cultures, according to an article published last month in the scientific journal AIDS Research and Therapy. Currently, there is no cure for AIDS, however current treatments have been developed to delay the development of the disease and make it more manageable. The new treatment fights HIV by causing infected cells to “self-destruct”, says Dr. Abraham Loyter who published his findings in the British journal AIDS Research and Therapy.

Statistics: There is a very high prevalence of cytomegalovirus antibodies among blood donors at the NBTS, with virtually all blood donors having been exposed to the virus. The extrapolated statistics of prevalence of cytomegalovirus in Israel are 3,099,504 of total population.