AEMCA Practice Exam

What happens when HIV severely damages the immune system?

1. The person develops osteoarthritis

2. The person gets an opportunistic infection

3. The person becomes asymptomatic

4. The person can recover fully

The correct answer is: The person gets an opportunistic infection

When HIV severely damages the immune system, the primary consequence is that the person becomes susceptible to opportunistic infections. HIV targets and attacks CD4 T cells, which play a crucial role in the body's ability to mount an effective immune response. As these cells are depleted over time, the body becomes less capable of defending itself against pathogens that it would normally be able to fight off. Opportunistic infections are infections that take advantage of the weakened immune system, often caused by organisms that do not typically lead to illness in individuals with a healthy immune response. This can include infections caused by bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites that the body is otherwise able to control. In contrast to the other options presented, which do not directly correlate with the consequences of severe immune system damage from HIV, the development of osteoarthritis is unrelated to HIV infection; being asymptomatic would generally occur at earlier stages of infection when the immune system is not yet severely compromised; and the likelihood of full recovery without treatment is minimal once the immune system has been significantly impaired. Therefore, the emergence of opportunistic infections is a well-recognized and critical consequence of severe immune system compromise due to HIV.