For the last two years, Backgrounder has covered topics as varied as the story of the smallpox vaccine and the laboratory dogs who gave their lives to further our understanding of human anatomy, all as a way of helping our readers understand the basic science behind HIV/AIDS.

This month, for a change of pace, we thought we’d give you the chance to see how much has sunk in.

How much do you really know about HIV/AIDS? Take this simple quiz and find out. Some of these questions are based on the subjects we’ve covered over the last twelve issues, some of them are more general knowledge, and one or two are right out of left field.

The answers are at the bottom of the page.

1. There’s no effective vaccine against HIV, despite many years of hard scientific endeavour trying to develop HIV vaccines for two different purposes. What are they called?
   1. investigational and prophylactic vaccines
   2. therapeutic and preventive vaccines
   3. prophylactic and preventative vaccines
2. We now know that it’s possible someone who already has HIV to be infected with HIV a second time. What’s this phenomenon called?
   1. coinfection
   2. superinfection
   3. double infection
3. Missing doses of antiretrovirals can lead to the development of drug-resistant HIV because of an evolutionary process, first described by Charles Darwin, called:
   1. selective pressure
   2. survival of the fittest
   3. the Galapagos effect
4. People with HIV can sometimes get access to essential drugs before they are approved, under a:
   1. Named Patient Programme
   2. Emergency Access Protocol
   3. Special Access Scheme
5. Several long-term side effects of HIV drugs have been linked to damage to which special structures inside our cells?
   1. lipochondria
   2. hypochondria
   3. mitochondria
6. The CD4 count is a key part of your three-monthly blood tests. To which major family of blood cells do CD4+ T-cells belong?
   1. white cells
   2. red cells
   3. platelets
7. The biochemical blood marker ALT gives an indication of the health of which internal organ?
   1. pancreas
   2. kidneys
   3. liver
8. Genotypic and Phenotypic are two kinds of:
   1. HIV drugs classes
   2. resistance tests
   3. viral set-points
9. HIV is believed to have originally crossed the species barrier from chimpanzees. When do we believe this happened?
   1. around 1959
   2. around 1931
   3. around 1976
10. Pancreatitis is a serious, but fortunately uncommon, side effect of some anti-HIV drugs, most notably:
    1. d4T
    2. ddI
    3. AZT
11. What’s the best way to determine the validity of HIV-related information you find on the internet?
    1. check that the information was published in a respected, peer-reviewed journal
    2. check that the website was endorsed by a responsible HIV or medical organisation
    3. ask a doctor or treatments officer whether the information is reliable
    4. all of the above
12. Most HIV drugs target the virus once it has entered human cells, but some new and experimental drugs are designed to prevent HIV from getting into cells. What are these drugs called?
    1. fusion inhibitors
    2. entry inhibitors
    3. CCR5 antagonists
    4. attachment inhibitors
    5. any of the above
13. Which of these isn’t a class of drugs used to treat people with HIV?
    1. reverse transcriptase inhibitors
    2. protease inhibitors
    3. amylase inhibitors
    4. fusion inhibitors
14. World AIDS Day is held every year on 1 December. What year was the first of these days held?
    1. 1988
    2. 1989
    3. 1990
15. The theme of last year’s World AIDS Day was ‘HIV and AIDS affect women too’. What is one of the ways that HIV affects women differently to men?
    1. Women don’t have to worry about using condoms for safe sex.
    2. Globally, women are increasingly more likely to be infected than men.
    3. Women are less likely to need care and support services than men.
16. How many genes does HIV have?
    1. nine
    2. about 9000
    3. about 9 million
    4. HIV doesn’t have genes
17. How many different antiretroviral medications have been approved for use in Australia (not counting multi-drug combinations such as Combivir and Trizivir)
    1. 16
    2. 19
    3. 24
18. How many people are currently living with HIV/AIDS in Australia?
    1. about 14,000
    2. about 17,000
    3. about 31,000
19. How many people are living with HIV/AIDS worldwide, according to the most recent UNAIDS estimates published in December?
    1. 36.1 million
    2. 39.4 million
    3. 43.5 million
20. The part of the world with the largest number of people living with HIV/AIDS is sub-Saharan Africa. Which area has the second-largest number?
    1. Europe
    2. South America
    3. South-East Asia
21. In what year was the first case of AIDS diagnosed in Australia?
    1. 1982
    2. 1984
    3. 1986
22. The federal government committee which oversees Australia’s response to HIV/AIDS is called:
    1. ANCARD
    2. MACASHH
    3. AFAO
23. In what year was the first issue of Positive Living published?
    1. 1989
    2. 1996
    3. 2002
24. Being infected with an untreated sexually-transmissible infection (STI) such as gonorrhoea or syphilis:
    1. can increase the risk of passing on HIV
    2. can increase the risk of contracting HIV
    3. can weaken your body’s response to HIV
    4. all of the above
25. HAART stands for:
    1. HIV and AIDS Are Really Tough
    2. Hopefully Adequate (A Revolting Taste)
    3. Hardly An Antidote, this Remedial Treatment
    4. Highly Active Anti-Retroviral Therapy

Answers

1. (b) 2. (b) 3. (a) 4. (c) 5. (c) 6. (a) 7. (c) 8. (b) 9. (b) 10. (b) 11. (d) 12. (e) 13. (c) 14. (a) 15. (b) 16. (a) 17. (b) 18. (a) 19. (b) 20. (c) 21. (a) 22. (b) 23. (a) 24 (d) 25. (d)