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HIV infection

• Overview
• Symptoms
• Treatment
• Prevention

Alternative Names:

Human immunodeficiency virus infection

Symptoms:

Any symptoms of illness may occur, since infections can occur throughout the body. Special symptoms relating to HIV infection include:

• Sore throat
• Mouth sores, including candidal infection
• Muscular stiffness or aching
• Headache
• Diarrhea
• Swollen lymph glands
• Fever
• Fatigue
• Rash of various types, including seborrheic dermatitis
• Frequent vaginal yeast infections

Note: At the time of diagnosis with HIV infection, many people have not experienced any symptoms.

Signs and tests:

• HIV ELISA/Western blot may show positive HIV antibody . If it is negative and the patient has definite risk factor for HIV infection, the test should be repeated in 3 months.
• Lower-than-normal CD4 cell count may show suppression of the immune system by the virus.
• HIV RNA viral load indicates the amount of virus in the bloodstream.
• Blood differential may show abnormalities.

• Review Date: 2/13/2006
• Reviewed By: Monica Gandhi, M.D., M.P.H., Assistant Professor, Division of Infectious Diseases, UCSF, San Francisco, CA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

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