HIV discovery allows targeting of vaccines.
Researchers continue to make new discoveries about HIV everyday. A recent article written by Helen Pearson highlights what seems to be a significant step towards finding a vaccine. Researchers have successfully profiled the HIV strains that are most likely to be transmitted during sex. A person who has been infected with HIV for many years has several different strains of HIV in their system. Some strains are more likely to infect than other and when one does get infected it is usually from only one type. The purpose of this profiling is so the scientists can design the vaccines to target these more infectious strains. What researchers know so far is that most of the more infectious strains contain a coating of protein called gp120. This protein is what allows the virus to attach to and enter human immune cells. However, this protein also makes the virus ten times for susceptible to antibodies that are able to fight the HIV virus. Natural human immune cells are unable to fight HIV and that is the purpose of the vaccines. I will expand on the significance of HIV research as well the nature of the virus and its theorized origins.
Obviously HIV research is important because in order to defend against a disease, or anything for that matter, you must understand it. There are so many variables involved with HIV that research in one area may not apply in another. For instance HIV strains in homosexual males are different than the strains found in most heterosexuals. Another example of the difficulty of researching the virus is that in order for the scientists to see which strains are the more infectious ones they must study someone who has only been infected for a few months. Fortunately, many people volunteered themselves to the study and that's how the researchers were able to profile the different strains. Researchers already posses many prototype vaccines for HIV.
HIV/AIDS is transmitted in several ways. ... Generally, HIV is the disease that is transmitted as that is the basic form of AIDS HIV is transmitted in sexual intercourse. ... HIV cannot be transmitted through touching or kissing a HIV+ person. ... Once HIV gets into a cell, it can take over the genetic material of the cell and turn the cell into a factory of HIV producing cells. ... HIV has four stages of severity. ...
HIV and AIDS HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) is a complex retrovirus that causes AIDS (Acquired ImmunoDeficiency Syndrome). ... There are currently two types of HIV: HIV-1 which is the strand of HIV that is chiefly responsible for causing AIDS worldwide and HIV-2 is a strand that is found mostly in West Africa. ... Mothers who are infected with HIV can also transmit HIV by breastfeeding their child. ... People who have the HIV antibodies are called "HIV-Positive." ... A few HIV-positive people stay healthy for many years even without taking anti-HIV medications. ...
HIV is an enveloped human retrovirus. ... HIV is a member of the retrovirus family of which there are two sub-families: HIV-1 and HIV-2. HIV-1 is more prevalent and more pathogenic than HIV-2. ... Researchers claim that chimpanzees were the source for HIV-1 and the simian virus (SIVcpz) is almost identical to HIV-1. ... In addition, HIV can mutate very easily; the HIV reverse transcriptase enzyme makes many mistakes while making DNA copies from HIV RNA. ...
The results were in - your child has HIV. ... The risk of perinatal transmission is significantly increased if the mother has advanced HIV disease, increased levels of HIV in her bloodstream, or fewer numbers of the immune system cells, CD4+ T cells, that are the main targets of HIV. ... HIV is often difficult to diagnose in very young children. ... How do you tell a child that they have HIV? ... In conclusion, HIV is real. ...
From that population, 1 out of every 5 people actually knows that they have HIV. ... It is said, "More than 50 percent of new HIV infections occur as a result of the 21 percent of people who have HIV but do not know it" (2012). ... Promoting the use of condoms is the number one way to prevent the spread of HIV. ... Evidence Many studies have been done on HIV prevention. ... They each participated in a demonstrated effective HIV prevention intervention. ...
Circumcision and HIV The parents of a newborn baby boy will make a lot of decisions for their child. ... There are also biological reasons that suggest the foreskin is especially vulnerable to HIV. ... high level of sexually transmitted disease, but a low rate of HIV. ... He also added that Europe has a low rate of circumcision and a low rate of HIV. ... HIV still appears at undesirably high rates in cities where circumcision is widely practiced. ...
The HIV/AIDS epidemic represents a major problem to the human race. ... HIV and AIDS are two stages of the same virus. ... HIV belongs for a group of viruses known as retroviruses. ... People found to possess HIV antibodies, and thus suffer from HIV, are known as "HIV Positive". ... There is no cure (or vaccine) for HIV or AIDS at present. ...
The HIV Epidemic The HIV virus, which causes AIDS, was first recognized as a new and distinct clinical entity in 1981. ... HIV like all viruses replicates inside a host cell. ... The HIV DNA is termed a "provirus." ... The third is by neutralizing the antibodies to HIV. ... The management of HIV has given many people a new lease on life. ...
