How is HIV spread?
- Eating/drinking substances contaminated with human waste (poop)
- Close person-to-person contact with an individual that has hepatitis A virus
- Sex with a person that has hepatitis A virus
- Contact with the blood of a person that has hepatitis A virus
How is HIV prevented?
How do you know if you have HIV?
- The only way to know if you have HIV is to get tested. Knowing your HIV status helps you make healthy decisions to prevent getting or transmitting HIV.
Can HIV be treated?
How long does HIV last?
- There is currently no effective cure. Once people get HIV, they have it for life.
- If HIV is not treated, it can lead to AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome).
- But with proper medical care, HIV can be controlled. People with HIV who get effective HIV treatment can live long, healthy lives and protect their partners.
What are the symptoms of HIV?
- Most people have flu-like symptoms within 2 to 4 weeks after infection. Symptoms may last for a few days or several weeks.
- Sore throat
- Fever
- Swollen lymph nodes
- Rash
- Muscle aches
- Night sweats
- Mouth ulcers
- Chills
- Fatigue
- Having these symptoms alone doesn’t mean you have HIV. Other illnesses can cause similar symptoms.
- Some people have no symptoms at all. The only way to know if you have HIV is to get tested.
What are the stages of HIV?
- When people with HIV don’t get treatment, they typically progress through three stages. But HIV treatment can slow or prevent progression of the disease. With advances in HIV treatment, progression to Stage 3 (AIDS) is less common today than in the early years of HIV.
- Stage 1: Acute HIV Infection
- People have a large amount of HIV in their blood and are very contagious.
- Many people have flu-like symptoms.
- If you have flu-like symptoms and think you may have been exposed to HIV, get tested.
- Stage 2: Chronic HIV Infection
- This stage is also called asymptomatic HIV infection or clinical latency.
- HIV is still active and continues to reproduce in the body.
- People may not have any symptoms or get sick during this phase but can transmit HIV.
- People who take HIV treatment as prescribed may never move into Stage 3 (AIDS).
- Without HIV treatment, this stage may last a decade or longer, or may progress faster. At the end of this stage, the amount of HIV in the blood (viral load) goes up and the person may move into Stage 3 (AIDS).
- Stage 3: Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS)
- The most severe stage of HIV infection.
- People with AIDS can have a high viral load and may easily transmit HIV to others.
- People with AIDS have badly damaged immune systems. They can get an increasing number of opportunistic infections or other serious illnesses.
- Without HIV treatment, people with AIDS typically survive about three years.
Where can I find more information about HIV?
