Chapter 9 Summary

The human immunodeficiency virus is exactly that, a virus. In this chapter, "The Life of a Virus and the Death of a Man," the composition of a virus and the methods by which physicians find ways to defeat it are examined. Considerable detail is used to explain the genetics involved in finding, isolating, and developing a treatment for a virus. Viruses carry very little genetic material themselves and cannot replicate on their own. They rely on others to do their dirty work. The HIV-infected lymphocyte is used to explain how this happens and the resulting devastation to the body's immune system.

AIDS is contagious, yet possesses a short-term life expectancy once removed from the body; it is understood that once the virus is contracted the infected will most certainly die as a result. Symptoms become apparent within weeks of the infected receiving the...