What's the difference between HIV and AIDS?
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Generally speaking, HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) is the virus that causes AIDS (Acquired Immune Difficiency Syndrome).
AIDS is the Disease of the body that is caused by the HIV virus. It emcompasses all the various clinical problems, signs, and symptoms that make up the syndrome.
One can have HIV, but not have "full blown AIDS". The opposite is NOT true. If you have AIDS, you also have the virus.
HIV is the virus that causes AIDS.
HIV means human immune virus and AIDS means acquired immune deficiency syndrome .HIV is a virus which leads to the deadly disease AIDS
To be more accurate.
HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) is the virus that attacks the immune system and over time (without treatment) will slowly destroy the body's ability to fight off even basic infections.
When a person has the HIV virus inside of them they are said to be HIV positive or have HIV disease.
When the immune system becomes so profoundly weak, the body is at risk of getting serious life threatening illnesses including bacterial, fungal, protozoal infections that spread throughout the body they are said to have AIDS.
We actually have a list of illnesses called Opportunistic Infections (OIs) or "AIDS-defining illnesses" that if a person who is HIV+ develops one of these OIs, they are said to have AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome). The vast majority of these OIs would never cause disease in people with normally functioning immune systems, but they take advantage of a weakened immune system (hence "opportunistic" infections -- they take the opportunity of a weakened immune system to take hold and cause disease).
To be precise, AIDS isn't a disease. It's a syndrome. A syndrome is a collection of symptoms that point to an underlying condition. For example.a cold is a syndrome. There are many symptoms of a cold. Runny nose, sore throat, cough, congestion. You don't have to have all the symptoms to be diagnosed with a cold. One or two will do. The symptoms point to the underlying condition..a cold. Same for AIDS. The underlying condition is a weakened immune system, the symptoms are a variety of infections/cancers that usually only afflict those with severely weakened immune systems.
Technically AIDS is the final stage of HIV disease:
1. Acute/Primary infection
2. Seroconversion (body begins to fight HIV)
3.Asymptomatic Infection
4.Symptomatic Infection
5.AIDS
Hope this helps
the level of attack
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