Causes and Risk Factors of AIDS and HIV Infection

Causes and Risk Factors of AIDS and HIV Infection

AIDS is transmitted via three main routes:

• The most common mode of transmission is the transfer of body secretions through sexual contact. This is accomplished through exposure of mucous membranes of the rectum, vagina or mouth to blood, semen or vaginal secretions containing the HIV virus.
• Blood or blood products can transmit the virus, most often through the sharing of contaminated syringes and needles.
• HIV can be spread during pregnancy from mother to fetus.

You cannot get AIDS/HIV from touching someone or sharing items, such as cups or pencils, or through coughing and sneezing. Additionally, HIV is not spread through routine contact in restaurants, the workplace or school. However, sharing a razor does pose a small risk in that blood from a minor nick can be transmitted from one person to another.

Symptoms of AIDS and HIV Infection

Immediately following infection with HIV, most individuals develop a brief, nonspecific �viral illness� consisting of low grade fever, rash, muscle aches, headache and/or fatigue. Like any other viral illness, these symptoms resolve over a period of five to 10 days. Then for a period of several years (sometimes as long as several decades), people infected with HIV are asymptomatic (no symptoms). However, their immune system is gradually being destroyed by the virus. When this destruction has progressed to a critical point, symptoms of AIDS appear. These symptoms are as follows:

• extreme fatigue
• rapid weight loss from an unknown cause (more than 10 lbs. in two months for no reason)
• appearance of swollen or tender glands in the neck, armpits or groin, for no apparent reason, lasting for more than four weeks
• unexplained shortness of breath, frequently accompanied by a dry cough, not due to allergies or smoking
• persistent diarrhea
• intermittent high fever or soaking night sweats of unknown origin
• a marked change in an illness pattern, either in frequency, severity, or length of sickness
• appearance of one or more purple spots on the surface of the skin, inside the mouth, anus or nasal passages
• whitish coating on the tongue, throat or vagina
• forgetfulness, confusion and other signs of mental deterioration

It can take as short as a year to as long as 10 to 15 years to go from being infected with HIV to "full-blown" AIDS.

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, a person is considered to have AIDS when they have a T cell count (also called CD4 cell count) of 200 or less (healthy T cell levels range from 500 to 1500) or they have an AIDS-defining condition.