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500 - 504
Vocabulary
- Helper T cell (CD4+ cell) - White blood cell that activates immune response that is the primary target cell of HIV infection
- opportunistic infection (OI) - illness due to an organism that causes disease in people with weakened immune systems; commonly found in AIDS patients
- asymptomatic stage - a stage of infection in which the infectious agent, such as HIV, is present but there are few or no symptoms of the infection.
HIV Infection
- HIV is transmitted via bodily fluids, like blood.
- When HIV enters the bloodstream the virus attaches to helper T cells and uses them to replicate the virus, this reduces the amount of helper T cells
- Normal levels of helper T cells in the blood is 500 to 1,500 per mL of blood.