The expert spoke about the manifestations of HIV

World AIDS Day is celebrated on December 1. There are more than 1.2 million people living with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in Russia. Thanks to modern antiretroviral therapy (ART), this disease has turned from a death sentence into a manageable chronic disease — people with HIV can work, start families, and women can give birth to healthy children. This is possible with effective and continuous therapy. Elena Poretskova, Director of the Virology Department at R-Pharm Group, told Izvestia on December 1 about why this is important and how modern therapy works.

"A person with HIV can feel well without treatment for a while. But at the same time, the virus enters the cells, actively multiplies and leads to functional failure and depletion of the immune system," Poretskova explained.

HIV attacks cells of the immune system — CD4 lymphocytes, or T helper cells. These are the "commanders" of the immune system, who coordinate the body's defense against infections. The virus enters these cells, uses them for reproduction and destroys them.

"Without treatment, the virus multiplies rapidly — up to a billion new copies per day. The number of CD4 cells is gradually decreasing. When there are critically few of them, AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) develops. The body cannot defend itself even from common infections. A person does not die from HIV itself, but from concomitant diseases such as pneumonia, fungal and viral infections," the expert explained.

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Antiretroviral drugs for the treatment of HIV infection block the reproduction of the virus at different stages of its life cycle. Modern ART is a combination of three or more drugs from different groups. This scheme is called highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). It suppresses the reproduction of the virus so much that its concentration in the blood drops to an undetectable level. The immune system is recovering, a person lives a normal life, and the risk of transmitting the virus to another person is reduced to zero.

"It is a common misconception to think that if the tests are good and you feel great, then you can take a break from treatment. In fact, it's deadly. The virus does not disappear from the body, a person will live with it throughout his life. It is worth interrupting therapy, and it begins to multiply again. Moreover, interruptions in therapy provoke the development of resistance when the virus mutates and stops responding to drugs," Poretskova warned.

Modern therapy includes fixed dose combinations that allow you to take one tablet once a day. This significantly increases adherence to therapy and simplifies compliance with the regime, which is very important for infection control.

"December 1 is a reminder that HIV remains a serious problem, but it is no longer a death sentence. Modern antiretroviral therapy allows people with HIV to live a full life: work, love, raise children," the specialist emphasized.

On October 17, doctor Zheng Xuezhi told how to strengthen the body's defenses and survive the cold season without illness. According to him, "at this time of the year, the key to health lies in the harmony of yin and yang, following the rhythms of nature and gently strengthening the immune system."

All important news is on the Izvestia channel in the MAX messenger.