Early HIV Symptoms in Women

Early HIV symptoms in women are usually non-specific and they last for a few days to months. To know more about HIV infection and the symptoms produced by this infection, read this article.

HIV stands for human immunodeficiency virus, a type of lentivirus, which is a member of the retrovirus family. This virus causes the disease, known as acquired immunodeficiency syndrome or AIDS. This disease is characterized by progressive weakening of the immune system, due to large scale destruction of certain white blood cells by the virus. These white blood cells, are an important component of the immune system, and are concerned with fighting infectious agents and diseases like, cancer. So, their gradual destruction paves the way for serious opportunistic infections. However, an initial HIV infection can take several years to develop into AIDS, and cause other serious health problems. In the early stage of HIV infection, only a few symptoms appear. The early HIV symptoms in women can be slightly different from the early HIV symptoms in men. But before discussing more about early symptoms of HIV in women, let's take a brief look at how the virus gets transmitted from one person to another.