How does HIV / AIDS affect the body?

it's for my research. can't find any online. please help!! It's due tomorrow :(

seriously.

thanks!!!

AIDS stands for acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. It is the most advanced stages of infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). HIV is a virus that kills or damages cells of the body's immune system. HIV most often spreads through unprotected sex with an infected person. AIDS may also spread by sharing drug needles or through contact with the blood of an infected person. Women can give it to their babies during pregnancy or childbirth. The first signs of HIV infection may be swollen glands and flu-like symptoms. These may come and go a month or two after infection. Severe symptoms may not appear until months or years later.

i searched it and here it is-How Does HIV Affect the Body?
A healthy body is equipped with CD4 helper lymphocyte cells (CD4 cells). These cells help the immune system function normally and fight off certain kinds of infections. They do this by acting as messengers to other types of immune system cells, telling them to become active and fight against an invading germ.

HIV attaches to these CD4 cells, infects them, and uses them as a place to multiply. In doing so, the virus destroys the ability of the infected cells to do their job in the immune system. The body then loses the ability to fight many infections.

Because their immune systems are weakened, people who have AIDS are unable to fight off many infections, particularly tuberculosis and other kinds of otherwise rare infections of the lung (such as Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia), the surface covering of the brain (meningitis), or the brain itself (encephalitis). People who have AIDS tend to keep getting sicker, especially if they are not taking antiviral medications properly.

AIDS can affect every body system. The immune defect caused by having too few CD4 cells also permits some cancers that are stimulated by viral illness to occur 鈥?some people with AIDS get forms of lymphoma and a rare tumor of blood vessels in the skin called Kaposi's sarcoma. Because AIDS is fatal, it's important that doctors detect HIV infection as early as possible so a person can take medication to delay the onset of AIDS

so basically it makes u pale and sick,weak

Try webmd.com, or these other sites, www.kaletra.com/consumer_hiv_affects.cfm
www.thebody.com/content/art15.html
www.niaid.nih.gov/factsheets/hivinf.ht...

Good luck with your research paper!!

HIV and AIDS are where u lose immunity to other viruses so its not the AIDS that will kill u its another virus such as cancer which ur body wont b able to fight

It destroys your immune system thru acquriing the virus called HIV. It specifically kills yout T-helper cells which turn on and activate the T and B (i think) cells of your immune system that kill the foreign disease. Its a terrible disease. my bfff's cat has it. I know right? Its fur is falling out and its very ill, yet still friendly. its truly awful bc the dr wont even see the cat bc hes scared of getting the disease... so sad