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What You Need to Know About HIV/AIDS
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| Facts
About HIV/AIDS | | HIV -- Human
Immunodeficiency Virus, is a retrovirus which is believed to cause AIDS. It destroys certain essential white blood cells,
CD4 cells, the conductors of the immune system. | | | AIDS - Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome | Acquired - The virus is acquired from someone
else with the virus. Immune - A protection against disease
causing microorganisms. Deficiency - A loss of this immune
protection. Syndrome - A group of signs or symptoms that
together define AIDS as a human pathology. | | So...AIDS is a deficiency of the human immune system which you get from someone else
who has been infected. The Center for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC) defines the progression from HIV to AIDS as occurring when a person is either: a) Infected with HIV and has a CD4 cell count of less than 200 or b) Infected with HIV and 1 of 26 opportunistic infections or neplasms. An opportunistic
infection results when a normally benign "bug" such as bacteria or virus becomes pathogenic, or harmful, in people
with suppressed immune systems. c) Re-current
pneumonia within a 12 month period
d) Wasting Syndrome
| | Rights of People with HIV/AIDS | - Quality medical treatment and social service entitlements without
regard to sexual orientation, diagnosis, economic status, age, or race.
- Full
and understandable explanations of all medical procedures and risks, choice of treatment modalities, choice to refuse research
participation without jeopardizing treatment, choice to make informed decisions about one's life.
- Privacy, confidentiality of condition and medical records, human respect,
and to live and die with dignity.
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