Stages of HIV Infection

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Original Editor - Cindy John-Chu

Top Contributors - Cindy John-Chu, Kim Jackson and Chloe Waller  

Introduction

Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is a virus that attacks the human immune system and when left untreated, leads to Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). Immunosuppression (the reduced ability to fight infections and other diseases) is determined by laboratory measurements of CD4+ T cells and plasma HIV viral load.

Modes of Infection/ How does Infection Occur in the Body?

Infection occurs when a person comes in contact with body fluids of infected persons.

Stages of HIV Infection

The World Health Organisation (WHO) categorises patients with HIV into four clinical stages and this categorisation results from the patient displaying at least one clinical condition in the stage's criteria. The clinical phases seen in the course of the HIV infection is directly linked to the progression of the infection. The four stages include:

Stage One: Patients in this category are usually asymptomatic. Characterised by flu-like symptoms and CD4 counts stay above 500.

Stage Two: Also known as a mildly symptomatic stage. It is characterised by an unexplained weight loss of less than 10% of total body weight; recurrent respiratory infections such as: sinusitis, bronchitis, otitis media, and pharyngitis; an array of dermatological conditions including: recurrent oral ulceration, papular pruritus eruptions and fungal nail infections .

Stage Three: Also known as the moderately symptomatic stage of the infection. The following characterises this stage: weight loss of greater than 10% of the total body weight, unexplained diarrhoea occurring for more than one month, pulmonary tuberculosis; bacterial infections like: pneumonia, pyelonephritis, empyema, pyomyositis, meningitis and bacteremia; mucocutaneous conditions such as:recurrent oral candida sis, gingivitis or periodontics.

Stage Four: At this stage, a clinical diagnosis of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is made when the following clinical findings are made: HIV wasting syndrome, pneumocystis pneumonia, recurrent severe or radiological bacterial pneumonia, extrapulmonary tuberculosis, HIV encephalopathy, CNS toxoplasmosis, oesophageal candidiasis and Kaposi's sarcoma. CD4 count here drops below 200

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