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| Signs and Symptoms of AIDS |
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| People infected with AIDS virus remain apparently by well even after infection. They may not show any physical symptoms of illness for a long time. |
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| When the virus enters the blood stream, it begins to attack certain white blood cells (T lymphocytes) and antibodies are produced in the body. These anti bodies can be detected by specific blood tests (ELISA Test). |
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| Once the individual is infected, the body may respond in many ways. |
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| In some, the protective immune system may be destroyed by the virus and then other germs like bacteria, fungi, protozoans and cancers that ordinarily do not attack, cause opportunistic disease (meaning using the opportunity of lowered resistance) to infect and destroy the body. Some of the common diseases that occur are Pneumonia, Tuberculosis and certain cancers. |
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| a) AIDS virus may attack nervous system causing damage to the brain. |
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| b) Some early signs may be persistent cough and fever associated with difficulty in breathing. |
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| c) In some, AIDS may take years to develop and may show up as memory less, indifference, loss of coordination, partial paralysis and mental disorder also. |
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| d) Some may develop AIDS - related complex (ARC) condition. This ARC can show clinical symptoms like swollen lymph nodes, fever, tired ness, weight loss, diarrhoea, loss of appetite and lack of resistance to infection. |
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| HIV infection is usually detected by ELISA. The presence of HIV specific antibodies in the serum of suspected patients is detected in the ELISA Test. If the case is positive, it is subjected to Western blot analysis for confirmation. |
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| The term immuno blotting or western blotting, describes a procedure designed to analyse protein antigens. Proteins are separated by Electrophoresis and transferred to a solid membrane through a blotting procedure. This membrane is incubated in the serum of the ELISA - positive patients and antigen - anti body interaction is detected by using a labelled anti - anti body (similar to ELISA). |
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| This assay provides information on the specific HIV proteins for which anti bodies are present in the serum of patients. |
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| Some important STDs and common Techniques for their detection |
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