| AIDS |
Acquired Immunodeficiency
Syndrome
The last and most severe
stage of the clinical spectrum
of HIV-related disease. |
| Antibodies |
Immunoglobulin molecules
in the blood produced by
the body's immune system
and directed against specific
agents, such as "alien"
viruses or bacteria. In
HIV infection, the antibodies
produced against the virus
for some reason fail to
protect against it. |
| Asymptomatic |
Without symptoms. |
| Autologous transfusion
|
Transfusion of a person's
own blood that has been
donated and stored prior
to need, or salvaged during
or after an operation and
reused. |
| Bacteria |
Microbes composed of
single cells that reproduce
by division. Bacteria are
responsible for a large
number of diseases. Bacteria
can live independently,
in contrast with viruses,
which can only survive within
the living cells that they
infect. |
| Bisexual |
A person who is sexually
attracted to both males
and females. |
| Condom |
One type of prophylactic
that can prevent sexually
transmitted diseases and
AIDS. |
| DNA |
Deoxyribonucleic Acid
A nucleic acid that carries
genetic information in all
organisms except certain
viruses, the RNA viruses,
which include HIV. |
| ELISA |
Enzyme-linked immunosorbent
assay. A laboratory test
to determine the presence
of antibodies to HIV in
the blood. A positive ELISA
result generally is confirmed
by the Western blot test. |
| False-negative HIV antibody
test |
A negative test result
that suggests a person is
not HIV-infected when, in
fact, he or she is infected. |
| False-positive HIV antibody
test |
A positive test result
that suggests a person is
HIV-infected when, in fact,
he or she is not infected. |
| Heterosexual |
A person sexually attracted
to persons of the opposite
sex. The word "straight"
has become synonymous with
heterosexual. |
| High-risk behaviour |
Activities that put an
individual at greater risk
of developing a particular
disease. High-risk activities
associated with AIDS include
unprotected sexual intercourse
and sharing of needles and
syringes. |
| HIV |
Human Immunodeficiency
Virus
The retrovirus that causes
AIDS in humans. |
| HIV-1 |
The retrovirus that is
the principal worldwide
cause of AIDS. |
| HIV-2 |
A retrovirus closely
related to HIV-1 that also
causes AIDS in humans,found
principally in West Africa. |
| HIV-antibody-negative
|
Containing no antibodies
to HIV. |
| HIV-antibody-positive
|
Containing antibodies
to HIV. |
| Homosexual |
A person sexually attracted
to persons of the same sex
.Homosexuals include males
(gays) and females (lesbians). |
| IDU |
Injecting drug user |
| Immune system |
All of the mechanisms
that act to defend the body
against external agents,
particularly microbes (viruses,
bacteria, fungi and parasites). |
| Incubation period |
The period of time between
entry of the infecting pathogen
into the body and the first
symptoms of the disease. |
| Kaposi's sarcoma |
A cancer or tumour of
the walls of the blood vessels
or the lymphatic vessels. |
| Lymphadenopathy |
Swelling of the lymph
nodes. Persistent and generalized
lymphadenopathy is one of
the early clinical signs
of HIV infection. |
| Maternal antibodies |
In an infant, these are
antibodies that have been
passively acquired from
the mother in utero. Because
maternal antibodies to HIV
continue to circulate in
the infant's blood up to
the age of 15-18 months,
it is difficult to determine
whether the infant is infected. |
| MSM |
Men who have sex with
men. |
| Opportunistic infection
|
An infection with a micro-organism
that does not ordinarily
cause disease, but that
becomes pathogenic in a
person whose immune system
is impaired, as by HIV infection. |
| Pathogen |
An agent such as a virus
or bacteria that causes
disease. |
| Plasma |
The fluid portion of
the blood. |
| Retrovirus |
An RNA-containing virus
that can transcribe its
genetic material into the
DNA of its host's cells
by the action of an enzyme
called reverse transcriptase.
This is the reverse of the
usual, or DNA-to-RNA, transcription. |
| RNA |
Ribonucleic Acid
A nucleic acid associated
with the control of chemical
activities inside a cell.
Some viruses, including
HIV, carry RNA instead
of the more usual DNA. |
| Semen |
Fluid produced by the
seminal vesicles and the
prostate that contains the
spermatozoa. Semen can contain
cells infected with the
AIDS virus and is consequently
able to transmit the infection
to sexual partners. |
| Seroconversion |
The development of antibodies
in response to an antigen.
With HIV, seroconversion
usually occurs 4-12 weeks
after infection is acquired,
but in a very few cases,
it has been delayed for
six months or more. |
| Serological testing |
Testing of a sample of
blood serum. |
| Seronegative |
Showing negative results
in a serological test. |
| Seropositive |
Showing positive results
in a serological test. A
person who is seropositive
for HIV antibody is considered
HIV-infected. |
| Seroprevalence |
The proportion of a given
population with a particular
marker in the blood, such
as antibody to HIV, at a
specific time. |
| Serosurvey |
Systematic testing of
sera from a group of persons
to determine the frequency
of a particular marker,
such as antibody to HIV,
in that population. |
| STD |
Sexually transmitted disease(s).
These are diseases that
can be transmitted by means
of sexual relations. AIDS
is essentially a sexually
transmitted disease. STDs
are increasingly being referred
to as sexually transmitted
infections. |
| Symptomatic |
With symptoms. |
| Viraemia |
The presence of virus
in the blood, which implies
active viral replication. |
| Virus |
Infectious agent (microbe)
responsible for numerous
diseases in all living beings.
They are extremely small
particles, and in contrast
with bacteria, can only
survive and multiply within
a living cell at the expense
of that cell. |
| White blood cells |
Blood cells responsible
for the defense of the body
against foreign disease
agents and microbes. HIV
targets two groups of white
blood cells called CD4+
lymphocytes and monocytes/macrophages. |
