Medicine
Volume 37, Issue 7 , Pages 333-337, July 2009

Natural history of HIV/AIDS

Penny Lewthwaite MRCP DTM&H DipHIV/Med is Specialist Registrar in Infectious Diseases, Tropical Medicine and General Internal Medicine at North Manchester General Hospital, Manchester, UK. Her interests include brain infections, HIV and tropical and imported infections. Competing interests: none declared

Ed Wilkins FRCP FRCPath is Consultant in Infectious Diseases at North Manchester General Hospital, Manchester, UK. His research interests include the toxicity of HIV antiretroviral drugs, hepatitis co-infection, and the investigation of treatment strategies. Competing interests: none declared

Abstract 

AIDS was first recognized in 1981 and is caused by HIV-1. HIV-2 causes a similar illness to HIV-1 but is less aggressive and restricted mainly to West Africa. In 2007, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that there were 33.2 million people living with HIV/AIDS, with 2.5 million new cases (including 330,000 children) and 2.1 million deaths. Whilst the death toll remains high, in the last 3 years the number of drugs and classes of drug available for the treatment of AIDS has increased hugely. Our better understanding of the pathogenesis of the disease and the opportunistic conditions associated with HIV, together with the enlarged drug repertoire and alternative treatment strategies, is modifying the natural history of the disease.

Keywords: AIDS natural history, CD4 count, HIV

 

PII: S1357-3039(09)00129-7

doi:10.1016/j.mpmed.2009.04.015

Medicine
Volume 37, Issue 7 , Pages 333-337, July 2009

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