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GCSE Biology · key term
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome: a condition that can develop when HIV has severely weakened the immune system.
Used by AQA, Edexcel and OCR
Specification 4.3.1.2 · Paper 1
The late stage of HIV infection, when the immune system is so badly damaged that it cannot deal effectively with other infections or cancers.
Revise: Viral DiseasesHIV and AIDS must be distinguished carefully. HIV is the virus and HIV infection can be present without AIDS. AIDS is late-stage HIV infection, reached when the immune system has become so badly damaged that it can no longer deal effectively with other infections or cancers.
Specification 5.5, 5.8 · Paper 1
Do not write that HIV and AIDS are the same thing. HIV is the virus; AIDS is the late stage of infection after severe damage to the immune system.
Distinguish HIV, the virus, from AIDS, the condition that can develop when the immune system is severely weakened.
Do not say that antibiotics treat HIV or that everyone with HIV has AIDS.
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HIV infection and AIDS are not the same thing: HIV is the virus, while AIDS is the condition that can develop later if the immune system becomes severely weakened. Without treatment, the loss of white blood cells can lead to the onset of AIDS, leaving the person vulnerable to serious illnesses that the immune system would normally help control.
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome; a collection of serious illnesses associated with advanced HIV infection.
Specification B6.3f · Paper 2 (Foundation), Paper 4 (Higher)
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome, a late stage of HIV infection in which immune defence has been severely weakened.
Revise: Common infectionsHIV and AIDS are not two names for the same thing. HIV is the virus. AIDS—acquired immune deficiency syndrome—is a late stage of HIV infection in which immune defence has become severely weakened.
Paper 1 (Foundation), Paper 2 (Foundation), Paper 3 (Higher), Paper 4 (Higher)
A serious condition that can develop when untreated HIV has severely damaged the immune system.
Revise: Common InfectionsFor example, Salmonella bacteria cause Salmonella food poisoning, while HIV is the virus that may eventually cause the condition AIDS.