Overview
HIV infects a special immune cell called CD4 cells. It slowly attacks these cells until their levels in our body drop below a critical number. When this happens, a person progresses to AIDS.
WHAT ARE THE EFFECTS OF HIV?
.png)
Healthline, 2021
HOW IS HIV SPREAD?
Treatment & prevention
HIV Treatment:
The major treatment for HIV is Anti-Retroviral Therapy (ART). It is a combination of drugs that targets the virus at different points in its life cycle. ART can reduce the amount of HIV in the blood prevent many of your immune cells from dying. Treatment for HIV relies on taking your medications continuously to be effective. With treatment, a person living with HIV can still live a normal life.
HIV Prevention:
There are 2 major preventative measures for HIV: Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) and Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP). PrEP is used to prevent a person that is at high risk for being exposed to HIV from contracting HIV. A person may be at high risk for HIV because they are sexually active with someone who has HIV, come into contact with a potentially infected needle, or other reasons. PEP on the other hand uses antiretroviral drugs to prevent someone who has a single high risk exposure to HIV from contracting the virus.