HIV and AIDS, though often thought of synonymously, are not the same. HIV is a virus that attacks the body’s immune system. AIDS occurs when the immune defence has become completely compromised to the point where the body cannot defend itself against potentially life-threatening infections. Though HIV does not always advance to AIDS, it will if left untreated.
The timeframe between HIV exposure and its progression into AIDS varies considerably from person to person, taking anywhere from five to 15 years. This is assuming that HIV positive persons do not seek any medical intervention. The differences in time are due to several unique factors, including the following:
Again, HIV does not progress into AIDS for everyone. Whether it does boils down to whether a person undergoes treatment for HIV.
The introduction of antiretroviral drugs in 1996 drastically altered the natural progression of HIV into AIDS. Though HIV still cannot be cured, individuals who are newly diagnosed with HIV and who get routine care for it have life expectancies that are near-normal. Of course, early detection of and treatment for HIV is key to a positive long-term prognosis.
HIV — which stands for human immunodeficiency virus — is a virus, not a condition. The key term, aside from “virus,” is “immunodeficiency.” Immunodeficiency occurs when the body’s immune system, which is responsible for fighting off illnesses, fails to work as it should. With HIV, instead of fighting off invaders, your immune system targets your CD4 and T cells, which are the cells that are responsible for keeping you healthy.
As HIV progresses, it copies itself over and over. As it does, it kills more CD4 cells, leaving the body prone to infection from viruses, bacteria and fungi.
Fortunately, the antiretroviral therapy (ART) drug that was introduced in 1996 inhibits the virus’s ability to destroy CD4 and T cells, thereby helping the immune system function normally.
Most people develop symptoms of HIV, but not all do. For those who do, symptoms typically develop two to four weeks after exposure. The initial symptoms are flu-like, persist for one to several weeks and may include the following:
Some symptomatic individuals may develop just one symptom, while others will develop all of them.
Having these symptoms after a high-risk incident does not necessarily mean you have HIV. Other conditions can cause the same or similar symptoms. If you are worried, get tested after the window period of the time between possible exposure and when the virus becomes detectable, which is usually three months.
In addition to possibly causing symptoms, HIV occurs in three distinct stages: acute, chronic, and AIDS. People who do not seek treatment progress through the stages, while those who do can slow or stop the progression entirely.
With acute HIV, individuals have large amounts of the virus in their systems and, therefore, are highly contagious. They typically develop flu-like symptoms, as described above, which last for anywhere from a couple of days to several weeks.
After the body’s initial reaction to the presence of HIV, the virus goes dormant. This stage is also called “clinical latency” or “asymptomatic HIV infection.”
In this stage, a person may not experience any symptoms of the virus. However, he or she is still contagious and can transmit HIV via the typical means, which include via intercourse, blood transfusions, saliva, breastmilk, needle sharing, pregnancy and birth. Without treatment, this stage can persist for several years or even decades, during which the virus is free to destroy more CD4 and T cells.
Once this stage comes to an end, the HIV viral load skyrockets, thereby moving an infected person into the third stage: AIDS.
AIDS is the eventual, but not inevitable, condition of HIV. AIDS, which stands for “acquired immunodeficiency syndrome,” is the most advanced stage of HIV infection and typically only develops when a person goes without treatment or fails to seek treatment in time. The clinically defining point of HIV turned AIDS is when a person’s CD4 count falls below 200 cells/millilitre.
When HIV becomes AIDS, a person’s viral load is extremely high, meaning he or she is highly contagious. In stage three, HIV is easily transmittable via intercourse, blood transfusions, saliva, breastmilk, needle sharing, pregnancy and birth.
Persons living with AIDS have severely damaged immune systems. As a result, they are susceptible to a number of minor and serious illnesses, diseases and infections, all of which have the potential to be life-threatening.
Because of how compromised the immune systems of persons living with AIDS is, the survival rate is dismal, at about three years. This is, of course, if an infected person continues to go without treatment.
Whether you know you have HIV or not, signs that the condition has progressed into AIDS are as follows:
An AIDS diagnosis is no longer the death sentence it once was. Even if a person’s CD4 cell count is well below 200 cells/millilitre, antiretroviral treatment can help rebuild these numbers to, if not normal, near normal and, in the process, restore immune function.
Early and aggressive treatment is key to preventing HIV from advancing into AIDS. Antiretroviral therapy has been keeping people healthy and alive for nearly three decades. It does this by reducing viral loads to the point where they are undetectable via tests, and to where most people can have peace of mind that they will not pass on the virus to sexual partners or others. With treatment, it is wholly possible to enjoy a normal lifespan despite an HIV diagnosis.