HIV Symptoms | Shim Clinic, STD CLINIC SINGAPORE™

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Summary

HIV Symptoms | Shim Clinic, STD CLINIC SINGAPORE™: HIV symptoms/signs in men/women. clinic, Singapore - Private and confidential service. Definitions, references, and latest news.

Description

Table of Contents

• HIV
• HIV Symptoms
• HIV Screening / HIV Test / HIV Check
  • HIV Antibody Test
    • HIV Blood Test most commonly sent to the lab
    • Rapid HIV Test
      • OraQuick® / HIV Oral Test / HIV Saliva Test
      • Determine®
    • HIV Western Blot Test (for HIV confirmation, not used for screening)
  • HIV Antigen Test
    • HIV p24 Test
  • HIV NAT (nucleic acid test) / HIV PCR Test
    • HIV DNA Test
    • HIV RNA Test
• HIV Risk
• HIV PEP (Post-Exposure Prophylaxis/Prevention)

HIV symptoms which may present in acute HIV infection:

• Fever
• Malaise
• Myalgia
• Rash
• Headache
• Night sweats
• Sore throat
• Lymphadenopathy
• Arthralgia
• Nasal congestion

HIV is the abbreviation for the human immunodeficiency virus, which causes the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome

HIV Test

The HIV window period is the time from HIV infection until a HIV Test can detect any change. Within the HIV window period, the HIV Test would be negative. During this period, the HIV viral load is extremely high, thus making the person highly infectious.

OraQuick® rapid HIV test cost/price is S$60/=. No additional consultation fees are charged if the clinic attendance is only for this test.

References

• LIST OF RAPID HIV TEST KITS REGISTERED WITH THE HEALTH SCIENCES AUTHORITY (HSA) FOR USE IN MEDICAL CLINIC SETTINGS
• OraSure OraQuick® Rapid HIV-1/2 Antibody Test
• 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Generation HIV Antibody ELISA Tests

CD4 count

• Used in HIV follow up management
• Cost SG$169/=
• Results return in 1 week.
• CD8 count is also available separately at the same price.

References

1. Cardo DM, Culver DH, Ciesielski CA, et al. A Case-Control Study of HIV Seroconversion in Health Care Workers after Percutaneous Exposure. N Engl J Med. 1997;337:1485-1490.
2. Katz MH, Gerberding JL. Management of occupational and nonoccupational postexposure HIV prophylaxis. Current Inf Dis Reports. 2002;4:543-549.
3. Gerberding JL. Prophylaxis for Occupational Exposure to HIV. Ann Intern Med. 1996;6:497-501
4. Vitinghoff E, Douglas J, Judon F, et al. Per-Contact Risk of Human Immunodificiency Virus Transmision between Male Sexual Partners. Am J Epidemiol. 1999;150:306-311.
5. Peterman TA, Stoneburner RL, Allen JR, et al. Risk of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Transmission From Heterosexual Adults With Transfusion-Associated Infections. JAMA. 1988;259:55-58. [Erratum. JAMA. 1989;262:502]
6. Kaplan EH, Heimer R. A Model-Based Estimate of HIV Infectivity via Needle Sharing. J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr. 1992;5:1116-1118.

Individuals are eligible for HIV PEP Treatment if all the following criteria are met:

• exposure occurred within the past 72 hours;
• mucous membrane or non-intact skin was significantly exposed to a potentially infectious body fluid;
• the potentially exposed individual is not infected or not known to be infected with HIV;
• the source is HIV+ve or the HIV status is unknown.

For optimal efficacy, antiretroviral therapy should be started as soon as possible, ideally within 1 hour of exposure. So that you can remain HIV negative.

The medications and dosages are the same as those used for lifelong treatment of HIV patients. However, for HIV PEP treatment, it is taken for only a month.

Drugs commonly used in HIV PEP:

• Lamivudine/zidovudine (Combivir®)
  • Lamivudine (3TC®) (NRTI)
  • Zidovudine (ZDV) (NRTI)
• Lopinavir/ritonavir (Kaletra®)
  • Lopinavir (ABT-378) (PI)
  • Ritonavir (Norvir®) (PI)

• Post-exposure prophylaxis to prevent HIV infection : joint WHO/ILO guidelines on post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) to prevent HIV infection.

TORCHES

Sexual risk (of STD/HIV/pregnancy), and what you can do before and after exposure.

References

• HIV - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
• HIV: Definition from Answers.com
• HIV - definition of HIV in the Medical dictionary - by the Free Online Medical Dictionary, Thesaurus and Encyclopedia.
• WHO | WHO and HIV
• CDC HIV

Direct and efficient cellular transformation of primary rat mesenchymal precursor cells by KSHV
Fri, 03 Feb 2012 18:50:49 +0100 | Journal of Clinical Investigation
Infections by viruses are associated with approximately 12% of human cancer. Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) is causally linked to several malignancies commonly found in ---- patients. The mechanism of KSHV-induced oncogenesis remains elusive, due in part to the lack of an adequate experimental system for cellular transformation of primary cells. Here, we report efficient infection and cellular transformation of primary rat embryonic metanephric mesenchymal precursor cells (MM cells) by KSHV. Cellular transformation occurred at as early as day 4 after infection and in nearly all infected cells. Transformed cells expressed hallmark vascular endothelial, lymphatic endothelial, and mesenchymal markers and efficiently induced tumors in nude mice. KSHV established latent ...

Zimbabwe: Improved ---- Levy Collections Fill Part of Funding Gap
Fri, 03 Feb 2012 13:34:43 +0100 | AllAfrica News: Health and Medicine
[PlusNews] Harare - With global funding for on the decline, Zimbabwe's innovative ---- levy - a 3 percent tax on income - has become a promising source of funding for the country, with a dramatic increase in revenue collected in the past two years. (Source: AllAfrica News: Health and Medicine)

Fighting malaria with one hand tied back
Fri, 03 Feb 2012 06:29:00 +0100 | Guardian Unlimited Science
Malaria does not just kill babies and children under five – it kills adults too, in nearly as large proportionsDecades of assumptions about the lethality of malaria have been overturned by the publication of a paper in the Lancet from an academic institute in Seattle which says the disease kills twice as many as everybody thought. Even more extraordinary – it would seem that conventional wisdom about the disease has been wrong all this time.It does not just kill babies and children under five — it kills adults too, in nearly as large proportions.The Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation has astounded the global health community by claiming it has been fighting malaria apparently with one hand behind its back. The death toll has come down since 2004, thanks to huge efforts to get...

Malaria kills twice as many people as previously thought, research finds
Fri, 03 Feb 2012 00:41:00 +0100 | Guardian Unlimited Science
Malaria kills 1.2 million people every year, a finding that has implications for global efforts to eliminate the diseaseMalaria kills twice as many people every year as formerly believed, taking 1.2 million lives and causing the deaths not only of babies but also older children and adults, according to research that overturns decades of assumptions about one of the world's most lethal diseases.The findings from the research, published on Friday, which has reanalysed 30 years of data on the disease using new techniques, will force a rethink of the huge global effort that has been under way to eliminate malaria. That ambition now looks highly unlikely by the UN target date of 2015.It also raises urgent questions about the future of the troubled Global Fund to Fight ----, TB and Malaria, whic...

Low free testosterone in HIV‐infected men is not associated with subclinical cardiovascular disease
Thu, 02 Feb 2012 22:44:50 +0100 | HIV Medicine
ConclusionsCompared with HIV‐uninfected men, HIV‐infected men had lower FT, as well as more prevalent carotid lesions. In both groups, FT was not associated with CAC presence, log carotid IMT, or carotid lesion presence, suggesting that FT does not influence subclinical CVD in this population of men with and at risk for HIV infection. (Source: HIV Medicine)

Africa: Empowering Women to Fight HIV
Thu, 02 Feb 2012 22:10:51 +0100 | AllAfrica News: HIV----- and STDs
[allAfrica.com] What makes a young African doctor decide to devote her career to helping women fight HIV? Dr. Sengeziwe Sibeko is a 37-year-old medical researcher with a degree in obstetrics and gynecology from the University of KwaZulu Natal (UKZN) in South Africa, an MSc in epidemiology from Columbia University in the United States, and is about to take up a fellowship to study for her PhD at Oxford University in the United Kingdom. AllAfrica's Julie Frederikse interviewed Dr. Sibeko at the (Source: AllAfrica News: HIV----- and STDs)

Africa: Back to the Lab
Thu, 02 Feb 2012 21:54:52 +0100 | AllAfrica News: HIV----- and STDs
[allAfrica.com] Professor Salim Abdool Karim, director of the Centre for the ---- Program of Research in South Africa (Caprisa) at the University of KwaZulu-Natal and Columbia University in the United States, spoke to AllAfrica's Julie Frederikse about the unexpected halt of a study into tenofovir vaginal gel. This followed a finding that the microbicide failed to prevent HIV transmission, in contrast to the positive result in a previous study conducted by his Caprisa team. (Source: AllAfrica News: HIV----- and STDs)

Africa: No Changing Mindset on Contraception 'Overnight'
Thu, 02 Feb 2012 21:41:32 +0100 | AllAfrica News: HIV----- and STDs
[allAfrica.com] Dr. Quarraisha Abdool Karim is an infectious diseases epidemiologist and associate scientific director of the Centre for the ---- Programme of Research in South Africa (Caprisa). AllAfrica's Julie Frederikse spoke to the 51-year-old and asked her about the challenges facing her team as they search for effective ways to prevent HIV and other sexually transmitted infections. (Source: AllAfrica News: HIV----- and STDs)

Africa: No Time to 'Give Up' on HIV-Fighting Gel
Thu, 02 Feb 2012 21:32:57 +0100 | AllAfrica News: HIV----- and STDs
[allAfrica.com] Durban, South Africa - Africans tracking the worldwide HIV epidemic have not found much to celebrate since ---- began ravaging the continent 30 years ago, but researchers are optimistic that they are learning as much from their failures as their successes. (Source: AllAfrica News: HIV----- and STDs)