Within the first 2-4 weeks after initial infection, the virus replicates very quickly and HIV viral load will reach a high level. People may experience flu-like symptoms, which they may describe as ‘the worst flu ever’.

This is known as Acute Retroviral Syndrome or ARS. These acute HIV symptoms may occur in about 70-80% of people.

Acute Retroviral Syndrome ARS / HIV Symptoms may include:

• Fever
• Night sweats
• Swollen glands
• Sore throat
• Body rash
• Fatigue
• Body aches
• Headache
• Nausea and vomiting
• Diarrhea

After the early stage of acute HIV infection, the disease enters into a clinical latency stage, where the virus is developing in the body, but no symptoms are seen. During this time, the virus is still active but will replicate slowly inside the cells – it can still be transmitted to others, but the risks of transmission are lower than during the acute phase.

If you have been diagnosed with HIV and are on HIV antiretroviral treatment (HAART), the virus is often kept under control and you may experience a symptom-free period that can last decades. If the virus can be suppressed to undetectable viral load levels, we would deem the risk of transmission extremely low. This stage of HIV infection can last for 5-10 years.

If you have HIV but are not on treatment, then it will eventually progress to late stage infection, known as AIDS.

Late Stage HIV / AIDS (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome)

If you have HIV but are not on antiretroviral treatment, it will eventually weaken your immune system and progress to AIDS, or Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome.

Symptoms or signs of late stage HIV / AIDS may include:

• Rapid weight loss
• Recurring fever
• Profuse night sweats
• Extreme tiredness
• Swollen glands
• Persistent diarrhea
• Mouth or genital sores and ulcers
• Fungal infections, especially oral thrush
• Shortness of breath, lung infections (e.g. PCP)
• Memory loss, limb weakness and other neurological disorders
• Mucous membrane and skin rashes and lesions (patches of reddish-purplish lesions may be characteristic of Kaposi sarcoma)

Many of these signs and symptoms in AIDS are due to Opportunistic Infections (OI’s), which are organisms that usually only cause infections in people with a weak immune system. People with normal functioning immune systems will typically be able to fight these types of infections off, or suppress them so they do not manifest with significant symptoms.

Common types of OI’s include candidiasis (thrush), pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP), tuberculosis (TB), and salmonella colitis infection, among many others.