Human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV, can be sexually transmitted or contracted through blood-to-blood contamination. The virus targets and destroys CD4 helper lymphocytes, or T-cells that protect the body from infection. There is no cure, but medications can help prevent or delay development of acquired immunodeficiency disease, or AIDS. Symptoms depend on the stage of illness, the degree of damage to the immune system and the activity of a variety of illnesses associated with AIDS.
Flu-Like Symptoms
HIV may produce flu-like symptoms from 2 to 4 weeks following exposure, according to MayoClinic.com. Sore throat, rash, fever, swollen glands and headache frequently characterize early infection signs. As symptoms go away by themselves, the virus often goes undetected for years, during which time it slowly depletes CD4 cells, destroys immune function and may be infecting others. The CDC defines the first stage of HIV infection as the absence of AIDS-associated conditions and a CD4 cell count of greater than 500 per cubic millimeter of blood.
Mild Infections and Chronic Conditions
Drug Information Online reports that 8 or 9 years after HIV exposure, symptoms of infections and chronic conditions may begin to appear, such as unexplained weight loss, night sweats, recurring fever, and red or brown splotches on the skin or mucous membranes. Neurological problems might include depression or loss of memory. Respiratory symptoms may include unproductive cough and shortness of breath. Loose stools lasting more than 7 days, or swollen glands in the groin, underarms or neck area may be signs that HIV infection has reached the CDC definition of stage 2, in which CD4 cell counts are between 200 and 499. Because other conditions have similar signs and symptoms, laboratory screening is used to confirm HIV status.
AIDS Symptoms
The CDC lists surveillance criteria for AIDS, defining the disease by a clinical picture of HIV infection, CD4 cell count below 200 or the presence of conditions associated with AIDS. At this stage, the body has little ability to fight bacteria, viruses, fungal organisms and parasites that cause chills and fever that may last for weeks. Night sweats continue, along with cough and shortness of breath, both possible signs of concurrent tuberculosis infection, which Drug Information Online reports is the most common AIDS-associated illness worldwide. Oral lesions may result from yeast overgrowth or herpes simplex virus. Swollen lymph glands can persist for more than 3 months in persons with AIDS. Kaposi's sarcoma, the formation of tumors in blood vessels walls, is a cancer that is rare in people who are not infected with HIV. Non-hodgkin's lymphoma, a cancer of the lymph cells, may develop in AIDS patients, as well as cervical cancer in women infected with the human papiloma virus, or HPV. Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia is another serious opportunistic infection which strikes AIDS patients of both sexes.
