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Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is caused by Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). It is the most severe form of HIV infection in which the body’s immune system collapses, and the infected person succumbs to opportunistic (which can otherwise be non-lethal) infections. There is currently no effective cure for the disease. Once people get HIV, they have it for life. But with proper medical care, it can be controlled. Without treatment, the survival rate is only three years.
The natural host for the virus in humans. The causative organism, HIV, is an RNA retrovirus. It uses an enzyme (reverse transcriptase) to convert RNA into DNA inside host cells after binding with an immune system called CD4-T helper cells. The antibody response generated in the human body after the virus binds with immune cells is insufficient to neutralize the virus. There are two variants of the virus, HIV-1, and HIV-2 that cause infections worldwide. HIV-1 causes more infections, and both are sexually transmitted.