Symptoms A Person Who Is Infected By The Hiv Virus

The signs and symptoms a person who is infected by the HIV virus shows are directly related to the stage of infection they are currently in. There are three stages of infection classified by the CDC, and those are acute infection, clinical latency, and AIDS. The World Health Organization, or WHO, however, breaks it down into 4 different stages which are primary infection, followed by a clinically asymptomatic stage, then a symptomatic stage, and lastly progression to AIDS. The US uses mostly the CDC system and for this reason this is how I will break the phases down in order to describe each. Acute infection is the initial stage at which point viral load is highest due to large amounts of viral particles being produced. Some people but not all develop what can be described as influenza-like symptoms a couple of weeks after initial exposure. Symptoms can include fever, throat inflammation, swollen lymph nodes, headaches, rashes, sores, diarrhea, nausea and vomiting. These symptoms usually last no more than a couple weeks at most. During clinical latency, very low levels of the virus are being produced and most people infected are completely asymptomatic. This is the stage in which people may remain and live for many years if on treatment. Even without treatment, this stage tends to last for a wide range of years for most, averaging at about 8-10 years, although some speed through it faster than others. With treatment, of course, life expectancy is markedly greater.Show MoreRelatedHIV and Aids are something that have been a major problem in a large part of the world for many1400 Words   |  6 PagesHIV and Aids are something that have been a major problem in a large part of the world for many years. These viruses have destroyed many families and have taken many people’s lives. There are many different ways for a person to receive the virus. As of today, there is still no cure for these horrible diseases. 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