HIV, a retrovirus, impacts by compromising, in humans, the immune response undermining the body’s ability to fight a range of opportunistic diseases.
The compromised immune system is instigated by the virus invading and compromising the helper cells (CD4 + T cells). Low levels of these T cells lead to lower cellular immunity responses and in many cases to AIDS.
AID’s defining malignancies include Kaposi sarcoma, non Hodgkin lymphoma, and cervical cancer.