This means that HIV contained in one of these fluids must get into the bloodstream by direct entry into a vein, a break in the skin, or through mucous linings, such as the eyes, mouth, nose, vagina, rectum, or penis. Drug users who use needles can also contract HIV if the user is sharing needles with others. Prison administrators also face the growing problem of the rapid spread of HIV. HIV is often transmitted sexually, and crowded prisons provide prime settings for AIDS epidemics. .
Oral sex is gaining popularity among teenagers because teens believe that there is less risk of obtaining a sexually transmitted disease (STD). STDs include gonorrhea, chlamydia, herpes, and syphilis. .
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The Four Stage of HIV/AIDS Reproduction:.
The four stages of the illness are the infection stage, the asymptomatic stage, the ARC stage, and the AIDS stage. The infection stage is when the virus first enters the body, this is highly contagious, and lasts for three to six months. After the initial three to six months the asymptomatic stage sets in, this is when a person is HIV positive for three to five years, and experiences no symptoms whatsoever. Eventually ARC (AIDS Related Complex) begins. The AIDS victim suffers three to five years of flu symptoms. Lastly the AIDS stage occurs, this is a full blown case, it occurs when the person's T-cell count drops below 200, a doctor will diagnose the patient and treatment with antibiotics will begin.
1. The AIDS virus must get into the bloodstream, it approaches a cell whose job is to make invading germs harmless.
2. The virus penetrates the cell membrane, then it approaches the cell interior and enters it. HIV is a retrovirus, meaning that its genetic information is stored on single-stranded RNA instead of the double-stranded DNA found in most organisms. To replicate, HIV uses an enzyme known as reverse transcriptase to convert its RNA to DNA.
3. HIV DNA enters the nucleus of the cell and inserts itself into the cell's DNA, this changes the cell.