Why can your body fight off the flu virus, but not the HIV virus?

Answer 1

people can fight off the common flu virus because it is a fairly stable virus, doesn't usually mutate rapidly,so body has time to create antibodies and eventually fight the virus, still get sick, but because the virus is a stable one, there is time enough to build anitbodies. Not so with HIV, it continually mutates, continually changes, treatment to date has been with medications to slow the rate of growth and mutation without killing the host. Thus far little progress has been achieved on vaccine because of the rate of mutation in the HIV virus.
Of interest, the Pandemic flus, the Spanish flu of 1812, the asian flu of more recent times were deadly, killed millions, because they were newly mutated viruses to which most of mankind had no imunity, no antibody defense.....H5N1 or the "bird flu" is as we speak a rapidly mutating virus......not quite as lethal as HIV, but enough to make the spanish influenza look like a headcold, if it mutates enough to be easily spread human to human.

Answer 2

Actually, the Flu has many different strains coming out every year and many people can't fight it and die..The flu virus mutates VERY rapidly but not so much INSIDE THE BODY (like HIV). The flu is actually one of those diseases that is in the top ten in terms of the people it kills per year. I don't know if you have ever heard of the Spanish Flu or the Bird Flu? Well Spanish Flu came up in the early 1900's actually during World War II. It killed about 4 million in 1 WEEK! So in that sense that version of the flu is A LOT worse than HIV.

Why are we able to fight some Flus and not HIV? That is because your immune system is actually able to find the protein that is most common to that flu strain. When it finds that protein it knows how to identify it. So the protein (receptor) works like a pirate flag on a ship. With that flag your immune cells are able to identify it and don't loose any time in attacking it until all the cells that have the virus inside or near it are DEAD. Sence all the cells that got infected are dead there is no Flu virus left. The greatest thing about your immune system is that it has a memory (this is how vaccines work) the next time that particular strain of the flu comes back it will kill it immediately cause it will remember that pirate flag.

HIV works completely different. HIV works in a very backward sense. HIV actually tricks your cells into thinking that all its receptors (flags) are actually signals from friendly neighbors. It actually tricks the body into thinking that any cells attacking the infected cell is an enemy. And the cells that are really saving your life get killed by your own cell and the virus AT THE SAME TIME!!!! this is how you loose all those T-cells. (Obviously I don't mean you in particular)... HIV has many other tricks and neither the body nor the scientists are able to keep up with it.. And the thing is that all of the fxns of its proteins overlap so if you take away one of its proteins it can use another one to do the same job.
If you want to learn a lot more about HIV and how it works there is a book called AIDS update.... It is real easy to understand and it explains quite ALOT....

Answer 3

The HIV virus is stronger than the flu virus and directly attacks the body's abilities to fight off diseases. The flu virus is, for the average healthy adult, able to be flushed out of the system, your body becomes able to detect the virus cells and attack them. This is, unfortunately, not the same for HIV.

Answer 4

3 reasons.

1 - the HIV directly attacks the immune system, whereas the flu virus does not.

2 - HIV can mutate so often that the body can't get rid of it, whereas there are only so many versions of the flu virus.

3 - the HIV virus is far better at replicating itself than the flu virus, so your body has to deal with far more viruses with HIV than flu.

Answer 5

The flu virus is temporary and is a common sickness that doesn't damage all your body systems, unlike the HIV, it slowly eats away at your body's system while your immune system is unable to fight the spreading HIV. That's why it's called "Human Immunodefiency Virus".

Answer 6

CUZ HIV takes away the chance to fight while the flu virus gives u a fever

Answer 7

The same reason your body can fight off a cold, but not diabetes. It's the makeup of the virus. HIV specifically attacks the immune system.

Answer 8

Because the HIV virus targets your T cells and turns them into useless virus fighting machines. It attacks your immune system and weakens it. Plus, once you get a flu shot your body recognizes the virus and is ready to fight it once you get the actual sickness.

Answer 9

Do you know what disease HIV produces, it is AIDS, The full form meaning--Auto immune deficiency syndrome, it means the virus destroys the power of fighting & killing the various viruse & bacteria, so any disease flares up like any thing and your body is not able to fight with the disease process along with its consequences & it's cause,But flu viruses do not affect the fighting system of the body. hence body resists flu virus.

Answer 10

Because HIV is the virus that causes acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS); it replicates in and kills the helper T cells. And if this is happening to your body, your body is weak and can't fight off anything.