Stages of HIV and where to get testing in NYC.

The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a sexually transmitted disease that has killed nearly 20 million people worldwide to date. Since the introduction of antiretroviral drugs in 1987 and the improvements integrated with the HAART technique in 1996 incidents of HIV/AIDS related deaths have gone down significantly. Countries all over the globe are seeing less infections and longer living among the infected. Yet the continued spread of the virus is still disheartening, especially in wealthier countries and cities like NYC that provide affordable HIV screening for men and women who are at risk. Despite the ample resources available that help protect and regulate their sexual health, Americans continue to spread HIV. According the Center for Disease Control, about 56,000 people in United States were infected in 2006.

While the story of HIV’s origins sits uncomfortably amidst the cultural myths, prejudice and some speculative research that attempt to explain it, there is little debate between STD doctors over how it manifests itself. It begins with viral transmission, and, as it worsens, could end in acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS).

Most people acquire the HIV infection through sexual intercourse. Sexually active persons are considered at high risk for transmission if they abstain from using latex condoms, change partners regularly, or have a history of any sexually transmitted diseases. A much smaller percentage of people in recent years have contracted the virus via intravenous drug habits during exchanges of needles with contaminated people. Mothers infected with the virus can also pass on HIV to their infants. Once infected, the virus invades cells within the body and melds with the host’s DNA to multiply and spread through the body. This stage can be marked by high fever and flu systems.

A clinically asymptomatic stage follows typically 6 months after initial infection. Physical examinations show almost no symptoms for HIV during this time, with exception to possible inflamed glands. The lymphoid tissues in the glands filter and confine most of the infection, which lessons the burden on the rest of the body for some time. Studies at STD clinics have shown that patients during this phase have an unusual symmetric balance between HIV replication and HIV destruction, meaning that at this time a person maintains a steady load of the virus.

As the disease worsens the body enters a systematic stage of infection. This occurs for either three reasons:  1. HIV exhausts the lymphoid tissues in the glands, allowing more and more of the virus to escape and populate the body.
2. The HIV undergoes a mutation, becoming stronger and more varied.
3. The body fails to maintain the balance between HIV replication and HIV destruction.
At this stage antiretroviral treatment is administered.

If the retroviral medication succeeds, the body can return to the asymptomatic stage and continue to protect the immune system. However, if it does not work the disease can quickly deteriorate the immune system, making it impossible for the body to fight off common illnesses. Unless the disease slackens, the individual’s immune system will worsen until they are considered to have AIDS.

The sooner one gets the diagnosis for HIV the better chance they have of preventing the formation of AIDS, which has a radically lower mortality rate. This is especially important considering the elongated time one can experience the asymptomatic stage, so it is pivotal that you make an appointment to get HIV Testing NYC at least once a year if you are sexually active. Log onto NYC STD testing to make an appointment at a testing clinic in NYC, or to learn more about what puts you at risk for the disease and what steps you can take to prevent contracting it.

Stop the spread, get tested today.