Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a virus that affects the immune system, gradually damaging it until it can no longer fight off infection and disease. The HIV infects the cells of the immune system. However, for reasons that scientists don’t fully understand, HIV remains resistant to the immune system’s efforts to eliminate it.
Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is the term used to describe patients who are in the advanced stages of an HIV infection, when the immune system is no longer able to protect them from infections or cancer. The time between when a person is infected and when they develop illness may be anywhere from a few months to 10 years or longer.
There is currently no cure for HIV/AIDS, but drug therapy can prevent the virus from replicating, keeping it “in check” and preventing illness.