HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) is a virus. You may hear that someone is HIV infected, has HIV infection, or has HIV disease. These are all terms that mean the person has HIV in his or her body and can pass the virus to other people. HIV attacks the body’s immune system. The immune system protects the body from infections and disease, but has no clear way to protect it from HIV. Without … [Read more...]
A person with HIV infection has AIDS
January 25, 2012 By Leave a Comment
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a person with HIV infection has AIDS when: The person’s CD4 cell count, a way to measure the strength of the immune system, falls below 200 (a normal CD4 cell count is 500 or higher); OR the person develops any of the specific serious conditions – also called AIDS-defining illnesses – linked with HIV infection … [Read more...]