Question

My dad has HIV-2

4 February 2013. Related: All topics.

Hi, I am Jay. My father was infected by HIV2 on March 2004. Since from that time there was no medicine given by the doctors. Because according to them proper time to start medicine has not come & in October 2012 the doctors have started to give medicine. My father’s CD4 Count is around 450. Some time I am very scared about my father that how long he will be with us.
According to doctor the CD4 count should be good for going healthy life. Please suggest to me for following things.


1. HIV 2 Virus people can live as longs as compared to HIV 1 or more then that.
2. What is the lower count of CD4 for HIV patient to convert in AIDS
3. For living a good & healthy life what should be the minimum count of CD4 Count.
4. According to doctor having medicine will help to control the HIV virus from growing. (If so then my question is a person having a medicine should not die because of AIDS. )
5. Any expectation of coming some good medicine for HIV in future.

Some question related to me.


1. According to doctors a person having a drugs by needles. Can be infected by HIV virus. Then using a blade for shaving is also dangerous.
2. According to doctor the HIV Virus cannot live in AIR. So my question is a person when take a drug by needle & after taking a drug a person remove a needle from his body and for some time the needle remains in air. So how HIV virus is not died (Is there any time line for virus to live in air )
A waiting for your response.

Answer

Answer: Rebecca McDowall

Hi Jay,

I’m sorry to hear how worried you are about your father. It sounds like you’re his doctor has given you good advice though. I have answered your questions in the order you asked them. Please let me know if you need any further information.

1. HIV-2 usually progresses more slowly than HIV-1. With treatment somebody with HIV-1 or HIV-2 should be able to live about as long as an HIV negative person.
2. Historically, the difference between HIV and AIDS diagnosis was more important. However, now that treatment is available to reverse the reduction in CD4, the two terms are much less relevant. The USA definition of an AIDS diagnosis, for example, is anyone with a CD4 count of less than 200.
3. There is much less evidence about what CD4 count is best to start treatment when you have HIV-2 than HIV-1. This is because HIV-2 is much less common worldwide. Generally, though, a CD4 count between 400-1600 is considered ‘normal’ for somebody who doesn’t have HIV. You father is well within this range.
4. You are correct to think that somebody taking ARVs shouldn’t die of AIDS. So long as your father’s viral load (the amount of virus in his body) is kept low HIV isn’t able to damage the immune system and he should not be at risk of HIV related illnesses.
5. There is lots of research looking at HIV medication and new drugs are approved each year. Not all drugs that treat HIV-1 also work for HIV-2. Please see this previous question.
6. If you are sharing a blade with your father for shaving it is important to clean and disinfect this between uses (professional barbers should always do this between customers).
7. HIV does die after a few seconds in the air. The reason why sharing needles is a problem is that when a person puts a syringe into the vein, s/he will pull back the plunger to make sure that they are in a vein, and if they are, blood will enter the syringe. Some of this blood may still be in the syringe if it is used by a second person. The syringe acts like a vacuum and no air can get in, which is why HIV is able to survive. You can read more about the risk of sharing needles here.