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What is HIV/AIDS caused by?

is it caused by a virus?

5 Answers

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  • Anonymous
    1 decade ago
    Favorite Answer

    Hi there,

    AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome) is a condition caused by a virus, like the cold or flu, called HIV which attacks attacks the immune system. Now, viruses on their own are useless; they can not do anything. In order to replicate, a virus needs a host cell to invade/infect. HIV mostly infects T-cells, also known as CD4+ cells, or T-helper cells. These cells are white blood cells that turn the immune system on to fight disease. Once inside the cell, HIV starts producing millions of little viruses, which eventually kill the cell and then go out to infect other cells. As more and more CD4 cells die the body has fewer armies to fight off infection.

    Eventually, when the immune system becomes severely compromised, the body is no longer able to fight off very common viruses and bacterias and so a person with hiv becomes more susceptible to be infected with an Opportunistic Infection (OI) or AIDS defining illnesses. These serious, often lethal infections and cancers are called "opportunistic" because they take advantage of the body's weakened defenses.

    Cheers.

  • 1 decade ago

    AIDS is caused by HIV. AIDS stands for acquired immune deficiency syndrome. AIDS is one of the ways that HIV shows up in the body.

    HIV is a virus. HIV stands for human immunodeficiency virus. That is a virus that is spread from person to person by body fluids including saliva, blood, semen etc...

    You get AIDS from HIV. You get HIV from a variety of unsafe activites.

    If you want more info. Go to the cdc website and look it up. They are the best resource

  • Anonymous
    1 decade ago

    Aids is caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). HIV destroys a type of defense cell in the body called a CD4 helper lymphocyte (pronounced: lim-fuh-site). These lymphocytes are part of the body's immune system, the defense system that fights infectious diseases. But as HIV destroys these lymphocytes, people with the virus begin to get serious infections that they normally wouldn't — that is, they become immune deficient. The name for this condition is acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS).

  • 1 decade ago

    HIV is the Virus itself.

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  • Anonymous
    1 decade ago

    It is claimed 'HIV' causes AIDS by direct killing of T-cells. In one response the responder wrote, 'Once inside the cell, HIV starts producing millions of little viruses, which eventually kill the cell and then go out to infect other cells.'

    This is not true. In fact one of the biggest connundrums the orthodox 'HIV' scientists have had to wrestle with is the fact that 'HIV' infects maybe .1% of T-cells. And it 'productively' infects even fewer, meaning acively producing new particles. [1] [2]

    Dr. David Ho back in 1995 published a paper claiming that despite earlier scientists' failures to find large amounts of virus in the bloodstream, he indeed found a 'great battle' going on. He used a PCR genetic test and claimed the now famous 'viral load' actually was a measure of individual viral particles.

    But again, anytime someone gets a 'viral load' test and thinks they're getting an actual count of particles in a cubic millimeter of blood is sorely mistaken. PCR counts small segments of genetic code in the blood. That's it. And these segments of genetic code are not even specific to 'HIV'.

    That so little virus can often be found in 'infected' people was known from the VERY FIRST papers published on 'HIV'.

    Robert Gallo's laboratory could only 'culture HIV' in about 36% of sick or at risk people claimed to have AIDS or pre-AIDS.

    These are the 'successful' culture rates for various groups investigated by Gallo for his initial papers. These are from Table 1 of the paper "Frequent Detection and Isolation of Cytopathic Retroviruses (HTLV-III) from Patients with AIDS and Risk for AIDS", Robert C. Gallo, Syed Z. Salahuddin, Mikulas Popovic, et al, Science, May 4, 1984: 224:500-502:

    Group Diagnosed: Number positive for HTLV-III/Number tested/Percent positive

    Pre-AIDS: 18/21 – 85.7%

    Clinically normal mothers of juvenile AIDS patients: 3/4 – 75.0

    Juvenile AIDS: 3/8 – 37.5%

    Adult AIDS with Kaposi's sarcoma: 13/43 – 30.2%

    Adult AIDS with opportunistic infections: 10/21 – 47.6%

    Clinically normal homosexual donors: 1/22 – 4.5%

    Clinically normal hterosexual donors: 0/115 – 0%

    THAT'S what 'HIV'/AIDS is based on. It's pathetic.

  • 1 decade ago

    unprotected sex(esp anal), needles and or any other exposure of blood with some one who has HIV/AIDS hard to get if you are with a faithful person and dont use needles otherwise any one strait or gay can have/give it with sex but not kissing or toilet seats unless you use a toilet for sex

  • 1 decade ago

    yes, a virus that mutates easily too

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