Gain a better understanding of AIDS by learning about its symptoms and diagnosis.
Many are still confused over the terms HIV and AIDS, with the tendency to conflate and treat them as the same thing. Though causally related, HIV and AIDS are actually distinct entities.
HIV refers to the Human Immunodeficiency Virus. After a person has been infected by this virus, he/she is known to be HIV+. On the other hand, AIDS refers to Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, which is actually the last stage of the viral infection caused by HIV.
Actually, AIDS does not refer to a specific disease or illness. Rather, the term includes a whole class of unusual and severe infections, cancers and debilitating illnesses and diseases. If left untreated, about half of HIV+ adults will develop AIDS within 10 – 15 years after infection.
Symptoms of AIDS
- Chronic cough with unexplained breathlessness
- Extreme fatigue
- Forgetfulness, confusion and other signs of mental deterioration
- High fever and soaking night sweats
- Marked change in the pattern of an existing illness, either in frequency, severity or length.
- Multiple swollen or tender glands in the neck, armpits or groin
- Severe diarrhea
- Rapid weight loss for no reason (more than five kilograms in two months)
- Thick whitish coating on the tongue, throat or vagina
- Unusual purplish spots on the surface of the skin, inside the mouth, anus or nasal passages.
Do note that the symptoms for AIDS are shared with many other illnesses and diseases, so having one or more of these symptoms does not necessarily mean that an HIV+ person has AIDS. However, medical advice should be sought if these symptoms last more than a few weeks.
Diagnosis of AIDS
Although there is no standard reference range for the CD4 cell count test, a count of 200 or less is usually indicative of the onset of AIDS. Diagnosis of AIDS is confirmed upon the occurrence of a specific indicator disease or a defining opportunistic infection.
These can include any of the following.
Viral
- Cytomegalovirus infection (including retinitis and gut disease)
- Encephalopathy (literally ‘disease of the brain’)
- Persistent ulcerations caused by the Herpes Simplex Virus
Bacterial
- Atypical mycobacteria infections / Mycobacterium avium complex
- Recurrent bacterial pneumonia
- Recurrent non-typhoid salmonella septicaemia.
- Tuberculosis (especially extra-pulmonary)
Fungal
- Coccidioidomycosis (also known as Desert Fever)
- Cryptococcal meningitis / Cryptococcosis
- Histoplasmosis (also known as Darling’s Disease)
- Oesophageal candidiasis
- Pneumocystis jiroveci pneumonia
Protozoa
- Cerebral toxoplasmosis
- Cryptosporidiosis (including cryptosporidial diarrhea)
- Isosporiasis
Tumours
- Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma
- CNS (central nervous system) lymphoma
- Kaposi’s sarcoma
- Cervical cancer (invasive)
Others
- Wasting syndrome
- Dementia
- Progressive leukoencepholopathy / multi-focal demyelinating disease
AIDS Related Complex
Not every HIV+ person eventually develops AIDS. Some of them may develop a less-serious form of disease known as AIDS Related Complex (ARC).
The ARC patient tests positive for AIDS infection and has a specific set of clinical symptoms. However, his/her symptoms are often less severe than those with classic AIDS. This is because the patient’s immune system has not been compromised and destroyed to the degree of those suffering from classic AIDS.
Symptoms of ARC may include the following:
- Diarrhea
- Fever
- Lack of resistance to infection
- Loss of appetite
- Night sweats
- Skin rashes
- Swollen lymph nodes
- Tiredness
- Weight loss
