Author: Zhang Wei (Beijing Ditan Hospital, Capital Medical University)
The viruses that cause AIDS (human immunodeficiency virus, HIV) mainly attack the human immune system, depriving the body of the ability to defend against various diseases.
How long does it take for a healthy person to go from hiv infection to death? This is a topic that many people care about.
It is currently believed that if they do not receive antiviral therapy, the time span from infection to death in AIDS patients is very large, generally ranging from 2 to 20 years.
Factors such as viral content and other individual differences in the body can affect this long or short survival period.
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First, the three stages of development after human infection with HIV
An HIV-infected person can generally have 3 periods of development from infection to death.
1, acute infection phase
It usually begins to appear a week after infection with HIV, and may have fever, muscle joint pain, lymphadenopathy, sore throat, headache and other cold-like symptoms, but most of them can heal quickly.
2. Asymptomatic period
This period of time, from infection with HIV to the onset of symptoms of the AIDS phase, is medically known as the asymptomatic phase.
The length of this period varies greatly among patients, ranging from 1 to 2 years to older than 15 years, with an average of 5 to 7 years.
3. AIDS period
When the immune system of an HIV-infected person is severely damaged and the body's resistance to disease cannot be guaranteed, many diseases that are difficult to control and cure will occur, such as various serious opportunistic infections and malignant tumors.
Once the onset of AIDS, patients generally die within two years if they do not undergo regular and effective antiviral and complication treatment.
Second, the factors affecting the survival time of AIDS patients
The length of the asymptomatic period of AIDS varies greatly among different people, which may be related to the type, intensity, quantity, route of infection of the invading virus, as well as the immune function, health status, nutritional status, age, living and medical conditions, psychological factors, etc. of the infected person.
In general, the asymptomatic period may be 5 to 7 years, but about 5% to 15% of people progress to the AIDS phase within 2 to 3 years, which is medically called "rapid progression"; another 5% of patients have immune function that can maintain normal for more than 12 years, which is medically called "long-term non-progression".
In addition to the "human" factor, there is also the "virus" factor. Just as humans are divided into male and female genders, HIV is also divided into two types according to their genes: HIV-1 and HIV-2.
HIV-1 is divided into groups M, O and N, most of which belong to group M, and group N is extremely rare and is the main type of HIV epidemic worldwide.
Group M includes 9 genotypes (A~D, F~H, J, K), and the vast majority of strains currently circulating globally are subtypes C and A in M group, followed by subtype B strains, followed by recombinant strains D and A/E.
Medical studies have shown that even if the number of infected viruses is basically the same, if there is no anti-HIV treatment, the average survival time of AIDS patients will vary greatly depending on the subtype of infection.
The average survival time was 8.8 years if infected with subtype A virus, compared to 6.9 years for people infected with subtype D, and shorter for mixed infections of subtype D and A viruses, averaging only 5.8 years.
Third, how should we respond to the discovery of AIDS infection and prolong life?
At present, AIDS is already a chronic disease that can be controlled by receiving scientific treatment, strictly following the doctor's instructions and adhering to a healthy lifestyle.
International standard therapy - high-efficiency antiretroviral therapy (HAART), commonly known as "cocktail therapy", can effectively inhibit viral amplification, keep the amount of virus at a low limit, improve patient immune function, and effectively resist various opportunistic infections.
The current view is that discovery is treatment, and the earlier it is treated, the less the virus destroys the body's immune system.
In the process of receiving HAART, antiviral therapy drugs may show toxic side effects, and some patients have poor immune reconstruction, bringing panic to many patients receiving antiviral therapy, the Ministry of Science and Technology of the mainland "Eleventh Five-Year Plan", "Twelfth Five-Year Plan" major special research found that HAART combined with traditional Chinese medicine treatment, can reduce the toxic side effects of antiviral drugs, while in the treatment of immune reconstitution, has a good effect, you can try to use integrated traditional Chinese and Western medicine treatment, play a role in attenuation and efficiency.
Therefore, due to the continuous progress of AIDS treatment research, AIDS is no longer a terminal disease that deters us from being discouraged and frightened.
Although there is currently no way to completely remove the virus from the body, it is enough to enable infected people to return to normal life and work, to be able to take care of their families, enjoy life, and even hope to enjoy life expectancy.
*The content of this article is a popularization of health knowledge and cannot be used as a specific diagnosis and treatment recommendation, nor is it a substitute for face-to-face consultation by a practicing physician, for reference only.
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