HIV

The human immunodeficiency virus, commonly called HIV, is a retrovirus that primarily infects vital components of the human immune system such as CD4+ T cells, macrophages and dendritic cells. It also directly and indirectly destroys CD4+ T cells. As CD4+ T cells are required for the proper functioning of the immune system, when enough CD4+ cells have been destroyed by HIV, the immune system barely works, leading to AIDS. HIV also directly attacks certain human organs, such as the kidneys, the heart and the brain leading to acute renal failure, cardiomyopathy, dementia and encephalopathy. Many of the problems faced by people infected with HIV results from the failure of the immune system to protect them from certain opportunistic infections and cancers.

External links

• AIDS.ORG: Educating - Raising HIV Awareness - Building Community
• AIDS/HIV Education
• Continuing medical education about HIV for healthcare providers
• Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS UN 2001
• FightAIDS@Home
• HIV/AIDS Treatment Information Service
• Genome (HIV-1)
• Genome (HIV-2)
• Genome at sc.edu
• HIV/AIDS Education in Teacher Preparation Programs
• HIV InSite
• How Aids Works (with animation)
• Medecins Sans Frontieres/Doctors Without Borders HIV/AIDS Pages
• NIH/NIAD/DAIDS
• "The Molecules of HIV" information resource
• Unsafe Health Care and the HIV/AIDS Pandemic 2003
• HIV/AIDS: global trends, global funds and delivery bottlenecks
• UNAIDS document regarding three scenarios for HIV/AIDS in Africa for the year 2025 (Large PDF file)
• UNAIDS - Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS webpage
• Planned Parenthood on Sexually Transmitted Infections