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Question: How does an HIV positive person progress to AIDS?

Answer: A few weeks after the virus enters the body, some people have flu-like symptoms such as fever, body ache, and headache, (every infected person may not experience these). These symptoms disappear after a while, and then there is a long phase of 3 years to 12 years which is asymptomatic. After that, when the immune system starts failing, AIDS sets in. If a person has two major and two minor signs he is diagnosed as having AIDS.
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How does an HIV positive person progress to AIDS?

Y.R.G.CARE - FAQs
A few weeks after the virus enters the body, some people have flu-like symptoms such as fever, body ache, and headache, (every infected person may not experience these). These symptoms disappear after a while, and then there is a long phase of 3 years to 12 years which is asymptomatic. After that, when the immune system starts failing, AIDS sets in. If a person has two major and two minor signs he is diagnosed as having AIDS.
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I Tested HIV Positive. What Does This Mean? Does it Mean I Have AIDS?

AIDS Athens | HIV/AIDS Frequently Asked Questions
A positive HIV test result means that you are infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Being infected with HIV does not mean that you have AIDS right now. However, if left untreated, HIV infection damages a person's immune system and can progress to AIDS.
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Have a question about HIV/AIDS or STDs?

AIDSHotline.org -- Frequently Asked Questions About Crystal ...
Call the California HIV/AIDS Hotline at 800/367-AIDS (English/Spanish). TDD: 888/225-AIDS. For more information about the hotline, click here.
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How does HIV cause AIDS?

Frequent Questions
HIV destroys a certain kind of blood cell (CD4+ T cells) which is crucial to the normal function of the human immune system. In fact, loss of these cells in people with HIV is an extremely powerful predictor of the development of AIDS. Studies of thousands of people have revealed that most people infected with HIV carry the virus for years before enough damage is done to the immune system for AIDS to develop.
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I know that I am HIV positive but what is the difference between HIV and AIDS?

Welcome to Positive Healthcare - Florida - Frequently Asked ...
HIV is a virus that is in your blood that destroys some of your white blood cells, also called T-cells. When your T-cells drop below a certain level, generally 200, you are diagnosed with AIDS. Sometimes you can have a co-infection like PCP Pneumonia that also gives you an AIDS diagnosis. Your nurse will go to you doctor's office, look at your chart, read your lab work, and get back with you to explain what your lab values mean. Your T-cells are the good cells that fight infection in your body.
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Question: How long does it take for HIV to cause AIDS?

FAQ
Since 1992, scientists have estimated that about half the people with HIV develop AIDS within 10 years after becoming infected. This time varies greatly from person to person and can depend on many factors, including a person's health status and their health-related behaviors. Today there are medical treatments that can slow down the rate at which HIV weakens the immune system.
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Question 23. Why is it that not every foetus in a HIV-positive/AIDS mother gets infected?

HIVAN - Centre for HIV/AIDS Networking
Not every act of sexual intercourse results in passage of the virus either. Contributing factors in both sexual transmission and MTCT, has to do with how much fluid exchange occurs (either semen or vaginal secretions in the case of sex) and from the circulation of the mother to the fetus in MTCT. MTCT can occur in utero…but more commonly occurs during birth when the membrane around the baby is no longer intact. Other contributing factors - whether instruments are used for assisted birth.
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What Is HIV/AIDS?

HIV/AIDS: Frequently Asked Questions - The Body
HIV (Human Immunodeficiency ["im-you-no-de-fish-en-see"] Virus -- is the virus that causes AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome). HIV attacks and kills the cells in our bodies that keep us from getting diseases. This makes people with HIV get illnesses that healthy people do not get. When a person with HIV gets very sick from pneumonia, some kinds of cancer, and other life-threatening diseases, they are said to have AIDS. AIDS is a fatal disease. Here is more information on HIV/AIDS.
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FAQ
Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is spread during sex, through significant and direct contact with infected blood and body fluids, and from mother to baby. The virus is present in blood, semen, vaginal secretions and breast milk. Over time, the HIV infection causes the immune system to weaken, causing the person to be at risk for getting other infections that could be life-threatening.
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The doctor said i am HIV positive what does that mean?

GENESIS OF AIDS- QUESTIONS THAT ARE FREQUENTLY ASKED ABOUT A...
The first documented cases of AIDS was on the 5th of June 1981, in the USA, and five people were affected with the disease. However there were reported (but not documented) cases of occurrence of HIV in 1959, But not much information was gathered on the later event. REF: FIRST OUTBREAK OF AIDS
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Does everyone who is HIV-positive eventually get AIDS?

Positive Lives
NO! By taking the appropriate nutrients, diet and medication (called anti-retroviral drugs) this degree of immune depletion can be avoided.
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How long does HIV takes to become AIDS?

GENESIS OF AIDS- QUESTIONS THAT ARE FREQUENTLY ASKED ABOUT A...
Averagely, it takes ten years for an HIV + positive person to develop the disease condition known as AIDS. However the years may be lower or higher depending on the treatment and care such patient receives. REF: Symptoms of AIDS
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American Social Health Association - Learn about STDs/STIs
According to the CDC, prior to 1996, scientists estimated that about half the people with HIV would develop AIDS within 10 years after becoming infected. This time varied greatly from person to person and depended on many factors, including a person's health status and their health-related behaviors. Since 1996, the introduction of powerful anti-retroviral therapies has dramatically changed the progression time between HIV infection and the development of AIDS.
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What is the test used to determine if a person is positive for HIV?

Asian Pacific AIDS Intervention Team
The current HIV test - called the ELISA test - was developed in the Spring of 1985 to protect the national blood supply. All donated units of blood are currently tested for the presence of HIV. The test, though highly sensitive, was never intended to be a diagnostic tool. Consequently, a second antibody test was developed, the Western Blot. If a person's ELISA test is positive, the second test is conducted.
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If a person tests positive for HIV, who will be notified?

A Guide to HIV/AIDS Epidemiological and Surveillance Terms -...
The law requires that information relating to a positive HIV test result be sent to the local health department and the provincial or territorial health authority in all provinces and territories except British Columbia (HIV infection became notifiable in Quebec on April 18, 2002). However, HIV infection is not legally notifiable at the national level by any Canadian province or territory.
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Question: What is the difference between a person infected with HIV and one who has AIDS?

Answer: A person living with HIV (medically known as an HIV positive person) is one who has virus in his/her body. Such a person, remains infected and is presumed infective for the rest of his/her life. However, s/he will appear to be perfectly normal and healthy and asymptomatic for many years. An asymptomatic HIV infected person does not have Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS).
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Question 6: What are the chances of being infected if you nurse an HIV/AIDS person?

HIVAN - Centre for HIV/AIDS Networking
It is important to distinguish 'nursing' in a clinical setting from 'nursing' or caring for a person in a home setting. It would be a grave mistake to discourage family or loved ones from providing love and care for an HIV infected person due to fear of contracting HIV. Bathing, feeding, hugging, holding hands, cleaning house/dishes, sharing a bathroom - all present near zero risk - and should be joyfully undertaken.
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If a person becomes infected with HIV, does that mean he/she has AIDS?

NGO Gateway - FAQs on HIV/AIDS FAQ
No. HIV is an unusual virus because a person can be infected with it for many years and yet appears to be perfectly healthy. But the virus gradually multiplies inside the body and eventually destroys the body's ability to fight off illnesses. It is still not certain that everyone with HIV infection will get AIDS. It seems likely that most people with HIV will develop serious problems with their health. But this may be after many years.
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UPSACS Frequently Asked Questions
No, HIV is an unusual virus because a person can be infected with it for many years and yet appear to be perfectly healthy. But the virus gradually multiplies inside the body and eventually destroys the body's ability to fight off illnesses. It is still not certain that everyone with HIV infection will get AIDS. It seems likely that most people with HIV will develop serious health problems. But this may be after many years.
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Top If a person becomes infected with HIV, does that mean they have AIDS?

indiaids.org
Ans. No. HIV is an unusual virus because a person can be infected with it for many years and yet appear to be perfectly healthy. But the virus gradually multiplies inside the body and eventually destroys the body's ability to fight off illnesses. It is still not certain that everyone with HIV infection will get AIDS. It seems likely that most people with HIV will develop serious problems with their health. But this may be after many years.
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Question: How long does it take for an HIV infected person to develop symptoms?

HIV/AIDS Prevention, Transmission, Know How : Bangladesh
Answer: This depends on the mode of the HIV transmission and the lifestyle of the HIV positive person. Majority of persons who are infected through blood transfusion develop symptoms on an average from 3 years to 5 years. With the other modes of transmission when the quantum of the virus is low, the person can remain healthy for 8 to 12 years or longer.
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Question: How is HIV passed from one person to another?

FAQ
HIV transmission can occur when blood, semen (including pre-seminal fluid, or "pre-cum"), vaginal fluid, or breast milk from an infected person enters the body of an uninfected person. HIV can enter the body through a vein (e.g., injection drug use), the anus or rectum, the vagina, the penis, the mouth, other mucous membranes (e.g., eyes or inside of the nose), or cuts and sores. Intact, healthy skin is an excellent barrier against HIV and other viruses and bacteria.
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Question: How would one know if a baby born to an HIV positive woman has the HIV infection?

HIV/AIDS Prevention, Transmission, Know How : Bangladesh
Answer: Most children born to HIV positive mothers carry HIV antibodies from the mother in their blood. These take about fifteen months to disappear. Only after that will an HIV antibody test show whether the baby is, in fact, infected with the HIV, or not. In less developed countries, the chance of a baby born to an HIV infected mother being infected is about 40 percent.
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Q12. How soon after infection will a person test HIV positive?

Frequently Asked Questions - Postive Action for Treatment Ac...
Infection with HIV has no specific symptoms. The only way you can find out for sure if you are infected with HIV is by taking the HIV antibody test. The HIV antibody test looks for antibodies to the virus in a person's blood. For most people these antibodies take 3 months to develop. In rare cases, it can take up to 6 months. It would be extremely uncommon to take longer then 6 months to develop detectable antibodies.
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