What is HIV? - BBC What's New?

HIV is like a sneaky guest that moves into your body and makes it harder for you to fight off other guests.

HIV stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus, which means it's a virus that targets the immune system, the part of your body that fights germs and sicknesses. Think of your immune system like a superhero team: when they're strong, they can defeat villains (like colds or flu). But if HIV gets in there, it starts to make some of those superheroes weaker or even disappear.

Imagine you have a box full of toy soldiers, each one is ready to fight off an enemy. HIV is like a tiny robot that sneaks into the box and starts taking out your strongest soldiers. Over time, there are fewer soldiers left to protect you from other germs, which can lead to AIDS, the final stage of HIV infection.

Sometimes people don’t know they have HIV until it’s been in their body for a while because it doesn’t always make them feel sick right away. But with medicine and care, many people live long, healthy lives even with HIV.