Question

A woman was tested positive for AIDS. Name the pathogen that infected her. How does this pathogen weaken her immune system? Explain.

Answer 1

Hint: The referred microbe causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, which is a chronic, potentially life-threatening condition. It affects the patient by damaging the immune system of the affected person. It specifically interferes with the body’s ability to fight infections and diseases.

Complete answer: The pathogen deteriorates the immune system of the affected patients. The pathogen that infected her is the ‘Human immunodeficiency virus’ also known as (HIV). After getting into the body of the person, it attacks the immune system of the body and weakens it. The virus then enters the macrophages, where RNA genomes of the virus replicate to form viral DNA with the help of the enzyme reverse transcriptase. HIV hijacks the helper T-lymphocytes, replicates and produces progeny viruses. The progeny virus released in the blood attacks other helper T-lymphocytes. This process is repeated which leads to a progressive decrease in the count of helper T-lymphocytes. Symptoms of HIV infection appear 2 to 12 weeks after exposure. At this point, the virus begins rapidly taking out immune cells in the blood. The affected person starts suffering from infections that would have been otherwise overcome, such as those due to bacteria, especially mycobacterium, viruses and fungi. It causes destruction of T-lymphocytes cells which then leads to the suppression of the immune system. Hence, the person becomes susceptible to infection by other pathogens easily.

Additional information: The symptoms are flu-like and include diarrhoea, fatigue or weakness, fever, headaches, joint pain, night sweat, rash, swollen glands, weight loss. The symptoms are similar to other viral infections.

Note: The immune system can keep the virus at bay for a while, but it can’t get rid of it completely. Many people feel fine for years before their immune system weakens and they develop AIDS. The disease is transmittable i.e. it can be transmitted person to person via shared needles, unprotected coitus.