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AIDS & HIV Acute Retroviral Syndrome

HIV acute retroviral syndrome (more commonly known as acute HIV infection or seroconversion illness) and AIDS are the first and last stages, respectively, of HIV disease. A person's body launching its first efforts to control the virus causes the symptoms of acute HIV infection, while HIV's assault on a person's immune system causes the syndrome (group of conditions) of AIDS.

  1. Transmission and Prevention

    • People transmit HIV primarily through unprotected penetrative sex (vaginal, anal or oral), using shared hypodermic needles, and from mother to child (MTCT) during pregnancy, labor and delivery or breast-feeding.

      In lesser-developed countries, there is a risk of HIV transmission from the reception of donated fluids, tissues and organs. In the United States and other developed nations, screening procedures have eliminated this transmission risk, according to Avert.org.

      Although health care professionals are at risk of infection from a needle-stick injury--in which a needle used on an HIV-positive person accidentally sticks the doctor or nurse--this is a very rare type of transmission.

      The correct and consistent use of barriers during sex is an important method of preventing HIV; this includes condoms, female condoms and dental dams. You also should use clean and unshared hypodermic needles for every injection.

      Pregnant HIV-positive women can take antiretroviral drugs during their pregnancy; a course of antiretrovirals given to the mother around the time of delivery and to the infant after birth also are effective in preventing MTCT. Doctors advise HIV-positive women not to breast-feed except when alternative feeding methods may pose a greater risk to the child.

    HIV Acute Retroviral Syndrome

    • HIV acute retroviral syndrome occurs in the time following infection. Many people experience a flu-like illness within two to four weeks after infection. The symptoms, according to HIV-Symptoms.info, include: fever, headache, sore throat, aches and pains, swollen lymph glands, tiredness, digestive troubles and skin rash. Some people do not develop symptoms during acute HIV infection, while others experience very mild symptoms that they may overlook.

      The symptoms of this stage of HIV disease are not sufficient to render a diagnosis of HIV; this is because many other viral infections cause the same or very similar symptoms. Those who believe they have been exposed to HIV should seek out testing at least one month after possible exposure (as this is the average time it takes to develop a detectable level of antibodies, a process called seroconversion). HIVTest.org provides information about types of HIV tests and can help individuals find local testing centers (see Resources).

    Intermediate Stages

    • After any symptoms of acute HIV infection clear up, HIV enters its longest stage (an average of 10 years)--asymptomatic HIV. There are no symptoms during this stage. Because of this, many people who are unaware of their HIV status may unknowingly expose others to the virus through unprotected sex or sharing needles.

      Third-stage HIV disease is called symptomatic HIV. During this time, which lasts between one and three years, a chronic flu-like disease develops. According to HIV-Symptoms.info, other symptoms include night sweats, severe weight loss, fungal infections, as well as breathing and skin problems.

    AIDS

    • Physicians diagnose AIDS in HIV-positive people when their CD4 (a type of immune cell targeted by HIV) cell count drops below 200 per cubic milliliter of blood, or when these cells account for 14 percent or less of their total lymphocytes (immune cells), according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

      AIDS is a syndrome, which is a group of conditions. These include opportunistic infections (OIs), wasting, cancers and neurological conditions.

      OIs are infections that do not cause illness in people with healthy immune systems, or those which cause more severe symptoms in people who are immunocompromised (have weakened immune systems). Common OIs include tuberculosis, Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia, toxoplasmosis (a parasite-caused brain disease), cytomegalovirus (which can lead to blindness), and thrush (an oral fungus).

      Wasting leads to severe weight loss, including the loss of muscle mass. Both HIV disease itself and the side effects (loss of appetite, vomiting, diarrhea) of some drugs used in the treatment of HIV disease contribute to wasting.

      Cancers found in AIDS include Kaposi's sarcoma and lymphomas. Opportunistic infection with the virus HHV-8 causes Kaposi's sarcoma--a skin cancer that appears as purple lesions. Lymphomas are cancers of lymphocytes, cells that HIV targets.

      AIDS dementia complex (ADC) is the most prominent neurological condition found in people with AIDS. According to HIV InSite, this affects thinking, motor skills and behavior.

    Treatment

    • People generally begin antiretroviral treatment for HIV disease after their CD4 cell count already has begun to decline, but before they develop AIDS. They normally take these drugs together in a multi-drug treatment plan called HAART (highly active antiretroviral therapy); antiretroviral drugs target HIV at different steps in its cycle of invading and infecting host cells.

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