Frequently asked question: What does HIV do to your body if you don't take any medication?

The HIV virus needs special immune cells, the CD4 cells, to replicate itself. The HIV particles go looking in your blood for these CD4 cells, which they can enter easily because they fit together exactly. Once inside, the HIV virus uses the CD4 cell as a kind of copying machine to replicate itself. The HIV virus forces the healthy CD4 cell to make new virus particles. Eventually, the CD4 cell opens up (bursts) and is then so damaged that it dies. The new virus particles that are released enter the body and all look for another CD4 cell. The whole process starts all over again and more and more immune cells are broken down.

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Frequently asked question: What does HIV do to your body if you don't take any medication?

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