Glossary

AIDS: Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome is a severe, incurable disease of the immune system caused by the virus HIV (see HIV below). A person is considered to have AIDS if he or she is HIV-positive and has a CD4 cell count lower than 200. The four stages in the development and progression of AIDS are:

• Seroconversion: The point at which antibodies to HIV can be detected in the blood.

• Asymptomatic state: When the infection is latent (dormant or hidden).

• Symptomatic disease/AIDS: The virus spreads throughout the blood. There is a weakening of the immune system that leaves a person vulnerable to fatal infections usually fought off by healthy immune systems.
  Advertisement
• Endstage disease: The immune system collapses. An opportunistic infection is usually the cause of death.

Adherence: The extent to which a patient takes his/her medications according to the prescribed schedule (also called "compliance").

Antibody: A molecule used by the immune system to fight invading organisms that cause infection.

Antiretrovirals: Drugs used to combat retroviruses like HIV.

AZT (Retrovir®, zidovudine, ZDV): A licensed drug often used in combination with other anti-HIV drugs. These drugs treat, but do not cure, HIV or AIDS. Side effects include nausea, vomiting, and low red or white blood cell counts. These drugs can be used to help prevent transmission of HIV from mother to fetus.

Birth control: Methods used to prevent pregnancy; of all birth control methods, more effective methods include sexual abstinence, male and female latex condoms, the pill, diaphragms, cervical caps, sponges, injected or implanted methods (i.e. DepoProvera or Norplant); less effective methods include intrauterine devices (IUDs), the rhythm method, withdrawl, and spermicides.

CD4 cell count: Counting CD4 cells (cells that help the immune system fight infection) helps to determine the status of a person's immune system. The average CD4 count in a healthy adult is 1,150. The CD4 count for a person diagnosed with AIDS is less than 200. Cell counts are used to indicate the possibility of opportunistic infections and the type of treatment that should be used.

CDC: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Cesarean section: Delivery of a baby through surgical incision in the abdominal wall and uterus.

Child: A young person between infancy and youth.

Commercial sex worker (CSW): A male or female who engages in sexual activity in exchange for goods or money.

Compliance: The extent to which a patient takes his/her medications according to the prescribed schedule (also called "adherence").

Condom: A barrier that covers the penis (male condom) or goes inside the vagina (female condom) that is used during sexual activity in an attempt to prevent pregnancy and STDs like HIV/AIDS.

Contamination: The act of making something impure or infected.

Drug combination therapy: The use of two or more drugs together to treat HIV. HIV drug therapies inhibit HIV replication and may consist of protease inhibitors, nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs), and non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs).

Epidemic: An outbreak of a contagious disease that affects a disproportionately large number of individuals within a population, community, or region at the same time.

HIV: Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is a virus that causes the disease AIDS. HIV weakens the immune system so that the body cannot fight infections. It is spread through blood, semen, vaginal fluids, and breast milk. A person who has contracted the virus cannot be cured of the infection.

Heterosexual: A person who is sexually attracted to people of the opposite sex.

Homosexual: A person who is sexually attracted to people of the same sex.

Immune system: The body's defense system against foreign substances and infections.

Infection: Invasion of an agent (i.e., HIV) in or on a suitable host.

Lymphocyte: A term for the broad category of white blood cells that help the immune system fight infections. HIV reproduces in and destroys helper T-lymphocytes (helper T-cells or CD4 cells).

MSM: Men who have sex with men.

Needle sharing: The reusing of needles for purposes such as injection drug use, blood transfusions, medical procedures, tattooing, or body piercing.

Opportunistic infection: An infection that normally does not cause disease but does so when it affects a person with a weakened immune system.

Oral sex: Sexual activity with the mouth as a stimulus; excludes intercourse.

Orphan: Any child not infected with HIV who has lost at least his or her mother.

PAHO: Pan American Health Organization.

Pandemic: An epidemic of worldwide proportions.

Resistance: The ability of an organism, like a virus, to develop a tolerance to drugs.

STD: Sexually-transmitted disease (i.e., HIV/AIDS, syphilis, gonorrhea, chancroid, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, giardiasis, herpes, genital warts, chlamydia, etc.) are diseases transmitted by direct sexual contact. Some STDs can also be transmitted by other means, such as needle sharing or through transmission from mother to child.

Spermicide: A substance that kills sperm and reduces the chance of pregnancy. It does not kill HIV or prevent the spread of HIV.

Transmission: The spread of something from one person to another.

UN: United Nations.

Viral load: The amount of virus in a person's blood.

WHO: World Health Organization.

Youth: Young people between adolescence and maturity.