HIV/AIDS

HIV/AIDS Symptoms and Signs

Many people with HIV do not know they are infected.

• Many people do not develop symptoms after they first get infected with HIV. Others have a flu-like illness within several days to weeks after exposure to the virus. They complain of fever, headache, tiredness, and enlarged lymph nodes in the neck. These symptoms usually disappear on their own within a few weeks. After that, the person feels normal and has no symptoms. This asymptomatic phase often lasts for years.

• The progression of disease varies widely among individuals. This state may last from a few months to more than 10 years.

• During this period, the virus continues to multiply actively and infects and kills the cells of the immune system.
• The virus destroys the cells that are the primary infection fighters, a type of white blood cell called CD4 cells.

HIV/AIDS Transmission

HIV is transmitted when the virus enters the body, usually by injecting infected cells or semen. There are several possible ways in which the virus can enter.

• Most commonly, HIV infection is spread by having sex with an infected partner. The virus can enter the body through the lining of the vagina, vulva, penis, rectum, or mouth during sex.
• HIV frequently spreads among injection-drug users who share needles or syringes that are contaminated with blood from an infected person.
• Women can transmit HIV to their babies during pregnancy or birth, when infected maternal cells enter the baby's circulation.

HIV can be spread in health-care settings through accidental needle sticks or contact with contaminated fluids.