could hiv antiretroviral drugs work for everyone?

Question

I learnt the antiretroviral drug for HIV is free. So how come living with it is expensive? My sister has HIV and there's no money. Will she die

Answer 1

Generally yes: There is a variety of anti HIV drugs and at least some are suitable for almost every one. The side effects vary with different patients.

Answer 2

It depends: There are now over thirty different options for the HIV cocktail used to treat HIV infected humans. It would be very rare for any one individual to not have at least one treatment options. But, if the individual in question has a virus that has mutated and become resistant to treatment then there could be difficulties in treatment. Please see an HIV expert for your care.

Answer 3

1% aged 15-49: According to 2006 data, an estimated 1% of the world's population aged 15-49 has HIV (human immunodeficiency virus). This equals 33.4 million people. The majority of infections worldwide are in sub-saharan africa.

Answer 4

See below: In 2007 there were 33 million people living with hiv/aids worldwide including 2 million children under 15. In 2007 2.7 million people were newly infected with hiv, of which 70% were in sub-saharan africa, the most severely affected region of the world.

Answer 5

Hits white bld cells: The HIV virus (leading to aids) attacks and destroys a critical white blood cell of the immune system: the "cd4+ t-helper" cell. With these cells knocked out, the body's immune system is crippled and left unable to fight off infections which would otherwise be easily handled by a normal, healthy immune system.

Answer 6

HIV: Hiv is the disease that destroys CD4 helper t-cells in our body. Aids is the final stage when HIV has won and overwhelmed the immune system. There are so many good treatments, you must see your infectious disease specialist to be placed on appropriate HIV therapy.

Answer 7

Kills CD4 cells: In simple terms, HIV infection leads to the destruction of CD4 cells, which are a specific type of immune cell called a t-helper cell. They are a type of white blood cell, which helps to fight infection. As HIV infection progresses, the CD4 cell count drops, which puts the person at higher risk for a variety of infections and malignancies.

Answer 8

YES: It will probably take quite a long time before hiv/aids is curable as the virus has shown itself to be quite problematic for producing an effective vaccine. It is currently very manageable in most patients who can now live healthy lives for many decades on effective haart.

Answer 9

Very unlikely: This would be highly unusual. Someone with HIV would have had to have recently used the razor and cut himself. Then, with blood on the blade, you would have to use it and cut yourself. It's unlikely that this has ever happened. Still, we recommend against sharing razors.

Answer 10

Two or three windows: From the time of infection, tests for HIV nucleic acid become positive in 1-3 weeks, test for HIV proteins usually becomes positive in an other couple of weeks and antibody test may take up to three months or even longer. The time from infection to the time of detection is called window period. See this site for more info. http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/resources/guidelines/.

could hiv antiretroviral drugs work for everyone?

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