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Dr. Suniti Solomon was a pioneer in HIV research and treatment in India. During the 1980s, she established the first voluntary testing and counselling centre and an AIDS research group in Chennai. In 1985, her team was the first to document evidence of HIV infection in India (First Indian AIDS patient in Chennai).
HIV virus
- HIV s a retrovirus (RNA virus) and was first recognised in Haiti (USA) in (1981\).
- The first confirmed case of AIDS infection in India was reported in April (1986) from Tamilnadu.
Important!
Retrovirus
AIDS is a disease in which the immune system weakens, and the body's disease-fighting mechanisms are suppressed. HIV attacks lymphocytes, making the person infected vulnerable to infectious infections.
Transmission of HIV:
Urine, saliva tears, breast milk, and vaginal secretions have all been proven to contain HIV. An infected patient who comes into contact with the blood of a healthy person spreads the virus. HIV/AIDS is not spread by touch or any other form of physical contact. It is spread through contact with bodily fluids or blood.
HIV is transmitted generally by:
- Sexual contact- from an infected person to a healthy person.
- Blood contact - a transfusion of unscreened blood.
- By surgical equipment - use of contaminated needles or syringes, particularly among intravenous drug users.
- Maternal-foetal transmission - from infected mother to the foetus via the placenta.
Mode of transmission and non transmission of HIV
The immune system serves a critical function in battling infections in the human body. HIV primarily targets white blood cells, also known as lymphocytes (T-lymphocytes), which serve as the body's immune system or self-defense mechanism. HIV weakens the immune system over time, making it difficult for the body to fight illnesses.
Reference:
https://www.freepik.com/free-vector/hiv-virus-computer-screen-magnifying-glass_5936241.htm#page=1&query=hiv%20virus&position=31
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Retrovirus.png
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Retrovirus.png
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