Because HIV inserts itself into the DNA of cells, it’s a lifelong condition and currently there’s no drug that eliminates HIV from the body, although many scientists are working to find one. However, with medical care, including treatment called antiretroviral therapy, it’s possible to manage HIV and live with the virus for many years .Without treatment, a person with HIV is likely to develop a serious condition called the Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome, known as AIDS .It’s estimated that 1.2 million Americans are currently living with HIV. Of those people, 1 in 7 don’t know they have the virus .AIDS is a disease that can develop in people with HIV. It’s the most advanced stage of HIV. But just because a person has HIV doesn’t mean AIDS will develop .HIV kills CD4 cells. Healthy adults generally have a CD4 count of 500 to 1,600 per cubic millimeter. A person with HIV whose CD4 count falls below 200 per cubic millimeter will be diagnosed with AIDS.A person can also be diagnosed with AIDS if they have HIV and develop an opportunistic infection or cancer that’s rare in people who don’t have HIV. This may be shorter if the person develops a severe opportunistic illness. However, treatment with antiretroviral drugs can prevent AIDS from developing .If AIDS does develop, it means that the immune system is severely compromised, that is, weakened to the point where it can no longer successfully respond against most diseases and infections .The shortened life expectancy linked with untreated AIDS isn’t a direct result of the syndrome itself. Rather, it’s a result of the diseases and complications that arise from having an immune system weakened by AIDS .During this stage, some people have no symptoms at first. However, many people experience symptoms in the first month or so after contracting the virus, but they often don’t realize HIV causes those symptoms .Because these symptoms are similar to common illnesses like the flu, the person who has them might not think they need to see a healthcare provider .And even if they do, their healthcare provider might suspect the flu or mononucleosis and might not even consider HIV .Whether a person has symptoms or not, during this period their viral load is very high. The viral load is the amount of HIV found in the bloodstream .Initial HIV symptoms usually resolve within a few months as the person enters the chronic, or clinical latency, stage of HIV. This stage can last many years or even decades with treatment .Some people don’t have any symptoms during this time, while others may have minimal or nonspecific symptoms. A nonspecific symptom is a symptom that doesn’t pertain to one specific disease or condition .As with the early stage, HIV is still transferable during this time even without symptoms and can be transmitted to another person .HIV symptoms at this stage may come and go, or they may progress rapidly. This progression can be slowed substantially with treatment .With the consistent use of this antiretroviral therapy, chronic HIV can last for decades and will likely not develop into AIDS, if treatment was started early enough.
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