What Are The Symptoms Of HIV Infection And AIDS?

Most people newly infected with the HIV virus show few, if any, symptoms for a few years. But during this asymptomatic period, HIV is actively multiplying, infecting, and killing cells in the immune system, particularly CD4+ T cells. People are very infectious during this early phase.

As the immune system weakens, symptoms begin to emerge.

Early Symptoms Of HIV Infection

Some people, but not all, develop symptoms within a month or two of exposure to HIV. These people may have a flu-like illness with such symptoms as:

• Fever
• Rash
• Headache
• Loss of appetite
• Swollen glands (enlarged lymph nodes)
• Achy muscles and joints

These early symptoms usually disappear within a week to a month. Most HIV-infected people who experience these early symptoms won't see any more signs of the infection for at least a few years.