AIDS, which stands for acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, is a chronic, life-threatening disease caused by HIV, or the human immunodeficiency virus. The Mayo Clinic states that approximately 39.5 million people globally have HIV. The virus diminishes the body's ability to fight off opportunistic infections. HIV invades CD4 T-cells, a specific type of white blood cell. This invasion ultimately renders the body defenseless against bacteria, fungi and viruses. People who develop AIDS may display only nonspecific or vague symptoms, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC, emphasize that an HIV test provides the most reliable diagnosis.
Initial Flu Symptoms
Many people develop a vague and brief flu-like illness several weeks after HIV infection. According to the Mayo Clinic, flu-like signs include fever, sore throat, headaches, sore lymph glands and skin rash. The CDC warns that an individual cannot depend on symptoms to diagnose HIV/AIDS; many who are HIV positive may not display symptoms for more than 10 years. According to the Mayo Clinic, initially after being infected with the virus, an individual may exhibit no symptoms but still be able to infect others.
Profound Fatigue
A second symptom of infection, according to the CDC, is a profound and debilitating fatigue. This fatigue pervades all activities of daily living to the point of impairing one's ability to function at home and at work. Similar to the flu-like symptoms of AIDS, this fatigue, although unexplained, is vague and nonspecific and unlikely to be an acute red flag for AIDS. As a result, an HIV/AIDS diagnosis may not occur early in the course of the virus.
Frequent Infections and Disorders
An individual with HIV/AIDS may appear to experience frequently recurring but nonspecific viral infections and minor complaints such as fever and malaise with aches and pains that do not arouse medical concern. Frequent or recurrent infections include pneumonia, especially pneumonia with causes, or etiologies, uncommon in the general population---for example, Pneumocystis carinii or Histoplasma capsulatum pneumonia. These relatively rare etiologies may begin to arouse suspicion of AIDS. Another unusual condition associated with AIDS is Kaposi's sarcoma, a tumor characterized initially by red, pink, brown or purplish lesions on the skin, eyelids and nose and in the mouth. The tumors spread from the skin to internal organs and systems. Other symptoms associated with AIDS include profuse night sweats as well as swollen lymph nodes in the armpits, neck or groin.
Diarrhea
A fourth symptom of AIDS is diarrhea that persists for more than one week and may become cyclic or chronic. Related to the diarrhea is significant weight loss, which often leads to an emaciated or wasting appearance.
