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After an adult is infected with HIV, he or she usually has no obvious symptoms for 5 to 10 years. During this time, however, the virus is slowly attacking the immune system. When the immune system is weakened enough, it becomes susceptible to other organisms that the body can usually fight off or keep under control. These other organisms include bacteria, other viruses, fungi, and parasites.

Many serious health problems occur as a result of the immune system damage caused by HIV. The most serious is AIDS.

The body produces antibodies to fight off HIV infection. HIV is usually diagnosed by blood tests called antibody titer tests. The enzyme immunoassay, or EIA, is used as a screening test. If this test is positive, a HIV Western blot test is done to confirm the diagnosis. The virus can also be detected by testing for viral proteins and by doing blood cultures. Other tests may be ordered to help diagnose complications of HIV infection, such as pneumonia.

Negative tests do not always mean that a person is free of infection. Weeks or months might pass after exposure to the virus before antibodies can be detected in the body.

Although practicing safer sex cannot completely protect a person from HIV, it can lower the risk. Condoms help prevent passing along the virus. Research in laboratories has shown that a spermicide called nonoxynol-9 kills or stops the growth of HIV. However, there are not yet any studies that prove spermicides prevent HIV infection in humans. Some experts do believe that using spermicide on a condom or putting it into the vagina can kill some HIV organisms before they can infect the woman. It is safest to avoid sexual intercourse with people who have HIV infection or unknown HIV status and those who use IV drugs.

A person should not share needles, syringes, or other drug paraphernalia that could carry tainted blood or body fluids with anyone. When caring for someone in an emergency, it is important to wear gloves to protect against HIV in body secretions.

A woman who is pregnant or thinking about getting pregnant, should ask her doctor to test her for HIV. If a woman has HIV, steps can be taken during pregnancy and birth to avoid passing it to her baby.

HIV is present in the blood and genital secretions of virtually all individuals infected with HIV, regardless of whether or not they have symptoms. The spread of HIV can occur when these secretions come in contact with tissues such as those lining the vagina, anal area, mouth, or eyes (the mucus membranes), or with a break in the skin, such as from a cut or puncture by a needle.

What are the early symptoms of HIV infection?

Many people do not develop any symptoms when they first become infected with HIV. Some people, however, get a flu-like illness within three to six weeks after exposure to the virus. This illness, called Acute HIV Syndrome, may include fever, headache, tiredness, nausea, diarrhoea and enlarged lymph nodes (organs of the immune system that can be felt in the neck, armpits and groin). These symptoms usually disappear within a week to a month and are often mistaken for another viral infection.

Neurological and psychiatric involvement: HIV infection may lead to a variety of neuropsychiatric sequelae, either by infection of the now susceptible nervous system by organisms, or as a direct consequence of the illness itself.

Toxoplasmosis is a disease caused by the single-celled parasite called Toxoplasma gondii; it usually infects the brain causing toxoplasma encephalitis but it can infect and cause disease in the eyes and lungs

Risk Factors

Have unprotected sex with multiple partners. You’re at risk whether you’re heterosexual, homosexual or bisexual. Unprotected sex means having sex without using a new latex or polyurethane condom every time.

Have unprotected sex with someone who is HIV-positive.

Have another sexually transmitted disease, such as syphilis, herpes, chlamydia, gonorrhea or bacterial vaginosis.

Low Status of Women: Infection rates have been on the increase among women and infants in some states. As in many other countries, unequal power relations and the low status of women, as expressed by limited access to human, financial, and economic assets, weakens the ability of women to protect themselves and negotiate safer sex, thereby increasing vulnerability.

Many of these risk factors are behavioral in nature. In other words, by avoiding high-risk behaviors, you can reduce or virtually eliminate your risk of HIV/AIDS infection. Learn the risk factors. If necessary, change your behavior.

• Sexual contact through vaginal or anal sex
• Sharing needles with an infected individual. Rarely, this can include tattoos and piercings
• Blood transfusions or accidental exposure to infected blood
• Mother to child transmission during pregnancy or during birth. Breast feeding, in some cases, can also lead to HIV infection

How can it be prevented?

The most important precautions to take are to make sure that you always use a new, sterile needle for any injection that you take, and to always use a condom during sex unless both you and your partner have had an HIV test. The contraceptive pill, diaphragms and spermicidal jelly cannot prevent infection during sex – only condoms are an effective preventative.

What are the symptoms?

Unfortunately, HIV and AIDS do not present any clear symptoms. Approximately 4 weeks after infection, most people will suffer a fever, glandular swelling, rashes, a sore throat and muscle aches. Since these symptoms are so general, they are frequently mistaken or misdiagnosed. The only way to be certain is to take an HIV or AIDS test.

What are the treatments?

There is currently no cure or vaccine for HIV or AIDS. However, there are various courses of retroviral drugs that can help to manage the symptoms and greatly increase the quality and length of life. Early diagnosis is critical, which is why HIV tests are so important for anyone who thinks they may have been exposed to the virus.

How do I get an HIV test?

There are numerous sexual health clinics around the US that offer confidential HIV tests. Most people choose to purchase them privately rather than through their insurance for the sake of privacy.

The first HIV test that is usually administered is the HIV-1 test. This is a blood test that checks for the antibodies that the body produces to fight the HIV infection. However, it can only be taken six weeks or more after exposure, as it takes time for the body to generate these antibodies. Another HIV test, the HIV PCR, can detect the virus 4-11 days after exposure. If either of these initial tests gives a positive result, follow tests are required to confirm it (the HIV-1 test can occasionally give false positive results, as it is very sensitive.)

How often should I have an HIV test?

Comprehensive STD screening, including an HIV test, is recommended once a year for all sexually active adults who have three or more sexual partners in that year. An HIV test is also recommended if you intend to start having unprotected sex with a partner, and, due to the risk of transmission to a child, is usually part of a standard health check up at the start of a pregnancy.

Well current treatment for HIV infection consists of highly active antiretroviral therapy, also known as HAART. HAART allows the stabilization of the patient’s symptoms and viremia, but it neither cures the patient of HIV, nor alleviates the symptoms, and high levels of HIV-1, often HAART resistant, return once treatment is stopped. Moreover, it would take more than the lifetime of an individual to be cleared of HIV infection using HAART. Despite this, many HIV-infected individuals have experienced remarkable improvements in their general health and quality of life, which has led to the plummeting of HIV-associated morbidity and mortality. In the absence of HAART, progression from HIV infection to AIDS occurs at a median of between nine to ten years and the median survival time after developing AIDS is only 9.2 months. HAART is thought to increase survival time by between 4 and 12 years. This average reflects the fact that for some patients and in many clinical cohorts this may be more than fifty percent of patients HAART achieves far less than optimal results. This is due to a variety of reasons such as medication intolerance/side effects, prior ineffective antiretroviral therapy and infection with a drug-resistant strain of HIV.