Infectious Diseases and Rare Diseases

HIV Related Infections, Co-Infections and Cancers

HIV infection progresses mainly in three different stages, Acute HIV infection, Chronic HIV infection and AIDS. Acute HIV infection or Acute Primary Infection refers to the earlier stages of HIV infection where it generally develops within 2 to 4 weeks of a person being affected with HIV. Some people experiences fever, headache and rash. During the acute stage of infection the virus spreads rapidly in its host’s body destroying the CD4 cells, thereby weakening the immune system. During the second stage of HIV infection i.e. the chronic HIV infection or The Asymptomatic Stage, HIV continuous to multiply very slowly. During chronic HIV infection people may not experience any HIV related symptoms but they can still spread HIV to others. If left untreated, Chronic HIV infection leads to AIDS or Symptomatic HIV Infection, the third and the final stage of HIV infection. This is also the most severe stage of HIV infection. The immune system is severely damaged and the body can’t fight off the opportunistic infections and infection related cancers.