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Early Infection Symptoms of HIV

The first symptoms of HIV follow infection by a couple of weeks and are very similar to symptoms caused by other viral infections. The first stage of HIV disease is known variously as acute HIV infection, seroconversion illness or HIV acute retroviral syndrome.

  1. Symptoms

    • The most common symptoms of acute HIV infection are fever, fatigue and skin rash; other symptoms may include headache, sore throat and swollen glands. Some people do not experience symptoms during first-stage HIV disease.

    Time Frame

    • The symptoms of acute HIV infection appear between two and four weeks after infection and generally clear up within one month.

    Cause

    • Symptoms experienced during acute HIV infection are caused by the immune system responding to the infection. This is why it is also known as seroconversion illness; seroconversion is a process of developing antibodies (specifically, an amount that can be detected by tests).

    Considerations

    • The symptoms of acute HIV infection can be mistaken for other infections, even by doctors. People who believe they have bee exposed to HIV should be tested; see Resources to find testing centers.

    Testing

    • According to HIVTest.org, HIV testing relies on finding antibodies to the virus, a detectable level of which develops, on average, 25 days after infection, although the process may sometimes take three to six months. An HIV test performed on an infected individual before seroconversion occurs will yield a false negative.

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