Yes, nobody dies from AIDS directly. People do not die of AIDS. In fact, AIDS weakens the immune system so that other diseases particularly pneumonia can kill the infected person. The AIDS retrovirus goes straight for the central nervous system, as well as the lungs, and it attacks the brain, causing AIDS virus encephalopathy also known as dementia.Most people infected with HIV eventually develop AIDS. These individuals mostly die from opportunistic infections or malignancies associated with the progressive failure of the immune system. HIV progresses to AIDS at a variable rate affected by viral, host, and environmental factors; HIV-specific treatment delays this process. Most will progress to AIDS within 10 years of HIV infection: some will have progressed much sooner, and some will take much longer. Treatment with antiretrovirals increases the life expectancy of people infected with HIV. Even after HIV has progressed to diagnosable AIDS, the average survival time with antiretroviral therapy was estimated to be more than 5 years as of 2005. Without antiretroviral therapy, someone who has AIDS typically dies within a year.
There are three clearly definable stages of AIDS infection. Stage one is the Asymptomatic Carrier Stage. The person may look well and feel well. No sign of AIDS is detected. Stage two begins with sudden drenching night sweats, persistent diarrhea, chronic fatigue, severe weight loss, candida and psychogenic disorder. These are called Aids Related Complex (ARC) or the pre-AIDS syndrome. The virus has now settled in the brain, kidneys, lungs, liver even the eyes and multiplied until its dread presence can no longer be hidden. All AIDS-Related Complex (ARC) diseases are described as "opportunistic."
What makes AIDS such a lethal epidemic is that stage one, the asymptomatic stage, can last for years five years and more is not uncommon. Such persons appear to be in good health, and even remain in good health for varying periods. With nobody sensing danger, they may infect any of their friends or family or even strangers because their body begins "shedding" the AIDS virus through bodily secretions, including sweat and tears.
In this time, we should be wise about the way we live and stay healthy :)
