If you want to see more scientifically accurate 3D medical images, please subscribe to our channel: /nucleushealthvideose HIV is the human immunodeficiency virus. If you have HIV, you have an infection that damages your immune system over time, leading to AIDS. AIDS stands for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. It is the end stage of an HIV infection in which your immune system becomes damaged and too weak to deal with everyday infections. When foreign invaders, such as bacteria and viruses, enter your body, they can cause infections. These events activate the body's defenses. White blood cells of the immune system are part of your body's defenses. One type of white blood cell, called a helper T cell, strengthens the immune system's response to an infection in two ways: First, helper T cells release chemicals that attract other white cells to the site of infection. These extra white blood cells attack the invading bacteria or virus, as well as other infected cells. The helper T cells then release chemicals that cause the other white blood cells to multiply. These new white blood cells create markers called antibodies that can identify this same foreign invader throughout the body. The antibodies attach to the bacteria or virus and mark them as targets for the immune system to destroy. If you have HIV, it travels through your blood and other body fluids to infect and kill certain white blood cells. The virus enters the helper T cells, which are the primary target. Once inside, the virus makes many copies of itself. As these virus particles are made, they leave the damaged helper T cell to infect other cells. The T cell loses its ability to protect the body from this infection and dies. In this way, HIV spreads and kills more helper T cells, which weakens your immune system. As a result, other types of infections can take advantage of your body's inability to fight back. These infections are called opportunistic infections. If you have HIV infection and one or more other opportunistic infections, you have AIDS. Some of the most common opportunistic infections linked to AIDS include inflammation of the tissues covering the brain and bone marrow called meningitis, inflammation of the brain called encephalitis, respiratory illnesses such as pneumonia and tuberculosis, intestinal illnesses such as chronic diarrhea caused by infectious parasites, and cancer such as Kaposi's sarcoma and non-Hodgkin lymphoma. HIV is passed from person to person through infected body fluids. HIV can enter your body during unprotected sex, while sharing injection drug needles, during your own birth, from your mother during breastfeeding, or from contaminated blood or blood products. While there is no cure for HIV, drugs called antiretroviral medications can reduce the amount of HIV in your body. A class of antiretroviral drugs called entry or fusion inhibitors disrupts the HIV infection process by preventing the virus from attaching to your cells. Other classes of antiretroviral drugs include reverse transcriptase inhibitors, protease inhibitors, and integrase inhibitors. These drugs prevent new viruses from being created, grouped, and spreading. Your doctor may prescribe a combination of these drug classes known as highly effective antiretroviral therapy, or HAART. Antiretroviral drugs don't completely eliminate HIV from your body, but they slow it down enough to allow your immune system to fight infections. Regular blood tests will let your doctor know how effective your antiretroviral drug is at controlling HIV. If the number of helper T cells in your blood sample is high enough, it means the drug is working. Treatments for opportunistic infections for AIDS are drugs specific to each type of infection. For example, your doctor may prescribe antibiotics if you have pneumonia or tuberculosis. To avoid getting or spreading HIV infection, get tested regularly to find out your HIV status and that of your partner. The most effective way to avoid HIV infection is to avoid vaginal and anal sex. When you do engage in sexual activity, you are less likely to get HIV if you only have sex with an uninfected partner or if you protect yourself with latex condoms. ANH13111