could you te ...
michael (先生) ：
could you tell me what is the difference between hiv positive and aids? and why aids is a incurable disease? thanks a lot!
damien lu ：
hiv is the virus that causes aids. hiv positive means
your have hiv in your body. being hiv positive does not
means you have aids. currently, scientists consider
you having aids only when the count of certain immune
cells falls below a certain point. there is usually
a period of time between the time you become hiv positive
and the time you develop aids. the length of this time
can be as short as a few weeks to as long as 20 years.
the reason aids is difficult to cure is very complex.
to put it simply, it is because the way hiv virus attack
the body. we rely on our immune system to fight off most
diseases, and that is precisely what hiv/aids affects.
it takes away our body's defense system, so that we are
susceptible to a whole range of diseases. in the end, it is
not aids that kills, but other opportunistic infection
that kills.
(if anyone reading this can translate the questions
and my answers into chinese, i would really appreciate
it. i would post the chinese version here as well.)