Question

HIV is different from other viruses since it is a retrovirus that selectively attacks the body's immune cells. True or False.

Answer 1

Answer: True.

Reason :-

Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is a virus that attacks cells that help the body fight infection,making a person vulnerable to other infections and diseases. It is spread by contact with certain body fluids of a person with HIV ,most commonly during unprotected sex, or through sharing injection drug equipment.

HIV belongs to a class of viruses called retroviruses and more specifically , a subgroup called lentiviruses , or viruses that cause disease slowly. HIV is a retrovirus which means it single strandes RNA is its genetic material rather than the double stranded DNA human cells carry. Retroviruses also have the enzyme reverse transcriptase , which allow it to copy RNA into DNA and use that DNA "copy" to infect human ,or host cells. It is a D-type virus in the Lentivirus family .Infection of cultured T4 cellswith HIV usually results in cell death.

HIV can not replicate on its own , so in order to make new copies of itself, it must infect cells of the human immune system, called CD4 cells. CD4 cells are white blood cells that play a central role in responding to infections in the body. Over time, CD4 cells are killed by HIV and the body's ability to recognise and fight some types of infection begins to decline. If HIV is not controlled by treatment, the loss of CD4 cells leads to the development of serious illness,or 'opportunistic infections'.