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HIV
The
human immunodeficiency virus
(
HIV
) is a
lentivirus
(a subgroup of
retrovirus
) that causes
HIV infection
and over time
acquired immunodeficiency syndrome
(AIDS). AIDS is a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the
immune system
allows life-threatening
opportunistic infections
and
cancers
to thrive. Without treatment, average survival time after infection with HIV is estimated to be 9 to 11 years, depending on the HIV subtype. Infection with HIV occurs by the transfer of
blood
,
semen
,
vaginal fluid
,
pre-ejaculate
, or
breast milk
. Within these bodily fluids, HIV is present as both free virus particles and virus within infected
immune cells
.
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