| HIV infected people usually do not have any | | | | T-lymphocytes counts. The virus destroys |
| symptom at first. Couple month later they may | | | | these important cells of immune system.The |
| suffer a flu-like illness. There symptoms are | | | | loss and deactivation of the immune system |
| not something extraordinary: fever, headache, | | | | eventually leads to complications. The first |
| fatigue, swollen lymph nodes especially in | | | | signs of infection are enlarged lymph nodes |
| the neck and groin. Everything looks like any | | | | (lay people name them glands). This is sign |
| other flu.Then symptoms go away. However, at | | | | of majority of infections and other |
| this stage the affected people are very | | | | inflammatory conditions. Other symptoms are |
| infectious. They make a lot of HIV that is | | | | also not specific to HIV only. Low energy, |
| easily transmitted by genital contacts. That | | | | weight loss, fevers and night sweats are also |
| is the danger for other people. This period | | | | common for tuberculosis, rheumatic diseases |
| of "asymptomatic" infection depends on the | | | | and many others. Later the loss of immunity |
| person. Really severe symptoms sometime occur | | | | leads to yeast infections (inside mouth or |
| only a decade later. Children born from HIV | | | | vagina), skin rashes, inflammatory |
| mothers may show symptoms earlier. Some | | | | conditions, which do not respond to regular |
| people develop the symptoms within a few | | | | treatment.Eventually different weird bugs |
| months.During this asymptomatic period the | | | | that are easily destroyed by a normal immune |
| HIV virus is actively spreading it he body. | | | | system, take control over in the HIV infected |
| The virus kills immune cells. It also hides | | | | persons. They cause unusual infections and |
| within infected macrophages and lymphocytes, | | | | tumors. Herpes infections of mouth and |
| and stays dormant. The clear sigh of HIV | | | | genitalia become frequent guests. Shingles |
| infection is the drop in CD4 positive | | | | happen too often.Aleksandr Kavokin, MD, PhD. |