HIV infection signs and symptoms

Associate Editors-in-Chief: Ujjwal Rastogi, MBBS [mailto:urastogi@perfuse.org]

Overview
Infection with HIV-1 is associated with a progressive decrease of the CD4+ T cell count and an increase in viral load, the level of HIV in the blood. The stage of infection can be determined by measuring the patient's CD4+ T cell count and viral load and the sign and symptom depends upon the stage of the viral infection.

Signs and symptoms
The stages of HIV infection are:


 * 1) Acute infections (also known as primary infection).
 * 2) Latency
 * 3) AIDS.

Acute infection
Duration: Last for several weeks.

Symptoms: fever, lymphadenopathy (swollen lymph nodes), pharyngitis (sore throat), rash, myalgia (muscle pain), malaise, and mouth and esophageal sores.

To read more about acute HIV infection, click here

Latent stage
Duration: Last for two weeks to twenty years or more.

Symptoms: None

AIDS
The final stage of HIV infection, is defined by low CD4+ T cell counts (fewer than 200 per microliter), various opportunistic infections, cancers and other conditions.