How does HIV/AIDS affect the body?
Once HIV enters a persons body, it remains there. HIV seeks out, infects, and takes over the bodys CD4+ cells, which are also known as the T-Cells. These white blood cells, normally help fight infection, and are important for the bodys immune system. When HIV takes over a cell, it causes the cell to produce more copies of the virus that, in turn, infect other healthy cells in the body. A healthy person has about 500 to 1,600 T-cells. When an infected persons T-cell count drops below 200 and the immune system becomes weak, HIV becomes classified as AIDS. When this happens, the body is not able to fight other infections and diseases. A person with AIDS can become severely ill after being exposed to what would otherwise be a minor illness for a healthy person. These are called opportunistic infections, and they can sometimes become life-threatening. Roughly 90 percent of all AIDS-related deaths are due to complications from infections. Common opportunistic infections include: Fungal infec
