HIV/AIDSBy Luis, Ivan, and Madeleine

Introduction

• The genetic material of HIV/AIDS that infects people is RNA, but when it injects itself inside of our DNA, it uses an enzyme called reverse transcriptase to change its genetic material into DNA

• HIV/AIDS is transmitted through bodily fluids like blood and semen. To contract aids, one must receive a lot of viral pathogens (you can’t get HIV/AIDS but touching or through saliva)

• Symptoms of HIV/AIDS may not manifest themselves for years because AIDS is a lysogenic virus. Early contraction symptoms include fever, swollen lymph nodes, and diarrhea.

• As HIV progresses to AIDS, symptoms include soaking night sweats, fatigue, consistent weight loss, fever, headaches, and coughs/shortness of breath.

What is the current treatment? How

does it work?

• The treatments for HIV/AIDS are very limited, but there are a few methods that doctors use today to give their patients a slightly higher quality of life

• There are no cures for this virus, however, some combinations of drugs are currently being used to help control the virus.

• One class of drugs that are often given to people with HIV/AIDS are Non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors. These types of drugs help by disabling the protein that HIV needs to copy itself.

• Another type of drug that is used is protease inhibitors or PIs, these drugs target and destroy protease, another protein that HIV needs to make copies of itself.

• There are many other types of drugs like, integrase inhibitors, that work by disabling a protein that HIV uses to insert its genetic material cells

Is the treatment available everywhere?

• Treatment is not available to everyone everywhere

• Prices are often too high for poor people to pay for their medication in third world countries

• Third world countries just can’t provide the resources to treat the pandemic of HIV/AIDS

Why isn’t there a vaccine?

• There is no vaccine because to cure HIV/AIDS, the cure has to clear the entire body of the virus, and the body is filled with trillions of cells.

• The virus inserts its own genetic code into your DNA, and they become mini HIV factories, and the cells have a weakened immune system.

• Some of the cells have the virus’ DNA, but they remain dormant, and they might not replicate for months or even years after the virus has gone in and changed the DNA.

• Going in and finding every cell with a mistake in their DNA is way too difficult for our current technologies.

• The viral genetic code is highly erratic, and has a very high chance of mutating, making it more difficult to find and target it.