World aids day is celebrated every year all over the world on 1st of December to raise the public awareness about AIDS (Acquired Immuno Deficiency Syndrome). AIDS is a pandemic disease caused due to the infection of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). The day is celebrated by the government organizations, NGOs, civil society and other health officials by organizing the speeches or forums discussion related to the AIDS.
It is universally recognized that anti-AIDS stamps can play a significant role in various ways in HIV/AIDS prevention. A stamp from Brunei in 1990 describes the threat of death. First cases of AIDS victims were reported from USA in 1981. The term AIDS was first used on July 27, 1982.
Discovery of HIV
In 1987, the president of the United States and the prime minister of France announced a joint agreement on the issue–the first time a medical research question had reached this level of political negotiation. More importantly, the identification of that virus, renamed human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV, provided a specific target for blood-screening tests and for scientists around the world conducting research to defeat AIDS. French Stamp (1994) honors the research carried out at France.
HIV virus belongs to group of lentiviruses which is a subgroup of retroviruses. The genome of HIV virus is made up of RNA (ribonucleic acid) and each virus has two chains of RNA. HIV infects mainly the CD4+ lymphocytes also known as T-cells, once a cell infected the host cell is converted into HIV-Replicating cell in the result human immune system losses that cell from its functioning capacity. So many variants of the HIV/AIDS virus can easily be found in a single patient, and the reason is structure of Human immunodeficiency virus. Moreover, HIV virus evades in the human immune system, because of its biological structure and life cycle of that virus. Therefore it is inevitable to know what kind of structure HIV has.
Chimpanzees had long been carriers of a virus
By 1984, 50 percent of Kenya’s prostitutes were HIV positive. By the following year, 10.000 people in the United States alone were infected, and the majority would die within two years of being diagnosed. The disease spread through all levels of society, taking a particularly heavy toll on the artistic and intellectual community. In France, the philosopher Michel Foucault would be the first well-known American figure to declare publicly that he had AIDS shortly before he died in November 1985. Also, there was a big scandal when a very famous American actor Rock Hudson died from AIDS in October 1985.
So what is the biological structure and life cycle of HIV virus, let’s get know.
HIV Structure:
Like other viruses, HIV does not have a cell wall or a nucleus. The basic structure of the virus includes the viral envelope, the HIV matrix proteins and the viral core.
HIV cannot grow or reproduce on its own like all the other viruses. For replication, HIV must need to infect the cells of a living organism. HIV is a social class virus. Social class often called retroviruses class. Belonging to social class, HIV is placed in the subgroup of lentiviruses. There are many other well know lentiviruses such as SIV, FIV, Visna and CAEV, which cause diseases in monkeys, cats, sheep and goats respectively.
Helper T cells are the main target for HIV; however, other cells can become infected as well including monocytes and macrophages, which can hold large numbers of viruses within themselves without being killed. Moreover, some T cells harbor similar reservoirs of the virus. So we can conclude that HIV is an enveloped RNA virus.
Structural Details of HIV – The first question regarding structural details of HIV is what it looks like. An HIV particle is about the same as around 100-150 billionths of a meter in diameter. Same as 0.1 microns or 4 millionths of an inch. You can also equalize it with one twentieth of the length of an E. coli bacterium.
HIV particles are much very small as compared to most of the bacteria. That’s why HIV particles cannot be seen with simple and ordinary microscopes; instead, observers use an electron microscope for clear vision. See the following picture for more details.
The capsid is bullet-shaped made from the protein p24. Its capsid also called its viral core. There are three enzymes required for HIV replication inside the core namely reverse transcriptase, integrase and protease.
What is RNA – RNA is Ribonucleic Acid. HIV is an enveloped RNA virus. As all of the organisms and most of the viruses use to store their genetic material on long strands of DNA, Retroviruses do not store their genetic material on long strands of DNA because their genes are composed of RNA.
There is not much difference between RNA and DNA. The structures are almost the same with few exceptions. The only difference in both is HIV replicate (make new copies of itself) more in RNA comparatively.
The Viral Envelope – The outer coat of the virus is called the viral envelope. The viral envelope originates of two layers of lipids. The viral envelope is used to cover the protective protein capsids of virus. The envelope is typically derived from portions of the host cell membranes i.e. forming “spikes” including the outer glycoprotein (gp) 120 and the transmembrane gp41.
P17 Protein – A matrix made up of an association of the viral protein p17 surrounds the capsid. The HIV matrix proteins lie between the envelope and core. This matrix proteins consists p17 protein.
The Viral Core – The capsid is made from the protein p24. It’s also called its viral core. The viral core, contains the viral capsule, surrounds two single strands of HIV Ribonucleic Acid. The enzymes like reverse transcriptase, protease, ribonuclease, and integrase etc. always needed to replicate HIV.
After one is infected with HIV, gradually symptoms started to develop over months to years before the onset of AIDS leading to death as is described in an Ethiopian stamp of 1991.
Transmission of the disease
Conclusion
Most agree that the epidemic is gradually being brought under control in many advanced Western countries, whereas it is undeniably out of control in Africa and many Third World countries. How long this bipartite state of affairs can continue is uncertain. However, one thing is certain: similar diseases will continue to appear at more or less lengthy intervals. In the blind process of natural selection, human beings are far from being alone in their struggle for survival on this planet. In order to survive, viruses too will evolve and discover their methods of adapting to circumstances. Yet, in discovering how to overcome AIDS, and finding a vaccine against such an elusive virus as HIV, humanity may well discover the means to win these battles in the future to.
UNAIDS started organizing the World AIDS Day campaign to be celebrated with the particular annual themes for better global awareness about the disease. Following are the list of all the year wise themes of World Aids Day:
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