9781422276167

Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is a virus that leads to a serious medical condition called Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS). The virus is capable of mutating very quickly, so it becomes very difficult for the body to recognize it. This is why doctors are still not able to develop a vaccine to prevent it. It is one of the reasons that HIV and AIDS have become pandemic. Millions of people have succumbed to the disease while million of others are living with it.

How Does HIV Affect the Body? When a person becomes infected with HIV, the virus attacks the immune system and destroys blood cells in the body called lymphocytes , or CD4 cells, also known as T cells. These cells are required by the body to fight off infections and diseases. When the number of T cells are reduced to a very low level, the immune system becomes extremely weak. This makes the affected person vulnerable to minor infections and diseases that

HIV Virus

WORDS TO UNDERSTAND

lymphocytes: white blood cells that attack foreign bodies. mutating: changing or evolving. sterilize: to make something free from germs.

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