What the hell are you talking about? It does not “integrate with the human genome”.
If another comment contains incorrect information, the thing to do is share correct information, so we all can learn. Breaking the site guidelines and lashing out with putdowns just makes the thread even worse.
Still, HIV is a provirus. Retroviruses write themselves into the genome of the host cell. Cells which are infected and survive to reproduce carry the HIV provirus. As will their descendants, and so on. They will produce HIV when mature even without any HIV particles in the cell. This is integration with the host genome.
This is why HIV cannot be cured with antivirals which fully inhibit its replication. It's also why complete destruction of the immune system (in the process destroying all the cells which are the specific hosts) while flooding the body with high dose antivirals, and then grafting innately immune T-cells, is an effective, if rather drastic, cure.
I'd really appreciate some input from someone who knows more on this topic.
After entering a CD4+ cell, HIV uses reverse transcriptase to copy it's RNA into DNA, enters the cell's nucleus, then uses integrase to splice that DNA into the host cell's genome. From that point on the host cell is permanently infected. This is one of the few exceptions to the "central dogma of molecular biology", which otherwise says information can't flow back into the nucleus.
The reverse transcription process is notoriously error prone, which is the reason why HIV is able to mutate so easily and develop resistance to antiviral drugs.
Most cells will go on to immediately begin building new HIV copies; these cells will quickly die out. A small number will go back to a resting state, only to reactivate months or years later. This "latent reservoir" of dormant cells means that even if you eradicate all the viremia from a patient, the infection will come back. This is why we can't cure HIV.
There is a very small window after infection before the virus has had a chance to establish a latent resevior where it can be successfully eradicated. This is how prophylactic drugs as part of PEP can work - if given quickly enough.
There's a really good animation someone posted here a few days ago that illustrates the mechanics: https://vimeo.com/260291607
Anyone who has looked into any science beyond what the media talks about knows this about HIV.
What's even more interesting is that there's latent reservoirs in a person's body that we don't know where they are so that even after we get someone's viral count undetectable with meds, if they stop the medicine hov can come back
Does every Dunning Kruger moron on the planet just talk with authority about science now because they posted the hashtag #believeInScience during Coronavirus?
The numb skulls in this thread need to gooogle retrovirus, integrase, and reverse transcriptase before even typing or better yet even thinking they know anything about biology just because they know how to write a JavaScript component.
We've had to warn you more than once about this kind of thing before. Not cool.
The comment I was responding to was as rude as it gets.
They deserve everything that I said.
Had a legit question and they attacked me! What the heck.
Also I never insulted them directly.
That was a vague generic comment targeting general numbskulls.
If the person I was talking to thinks they are numb skull then that does apply.
Need to step back, take some breaths, and say 'Serenity Now' until Im relaxed.
The problem on the internet is that we all have a tendency to overestimate the other person's rudeness by 10x and underestimate our own by another 10x, so we all come into these conflicts feeling like the aggrieved one. When both parties feel that way, the discussion can only degenerate.