Discuss the stages involved in the progression of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) virus according to the Centers for Disease Control.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

The Centers for Disease Control established the following categorization for broad classes of HIV infection and progression of the disease:
(1) Stage 0. This stage begins with initial infection and development of antibodies to the virus over the next 2 to 8 weeks. The stage is confirmed by a positive test for antibodies to HIV-1 or HIV-2, and lasts as long as the person keeps feeling well and the T cell count stays around 1,000. If they haven't been tested, people in Stage 0 can be asymptomatic carriers and can infect others.
(2) Stage 1. The T cell count drops but is still over 500. The person may still have no outward symptoms. The immune system is silently declining, however. In this stage, people may develop symptoms that are not immediately life threatening: swollen lymph nodes, night sweats, fever, diarrhea, persistent yeast infections in the throat or vagina, shingles, fatigue, or abnormal cells in the cervix.
(3) Stage 2. The T cell count falls to between 200 and 499.
(4) Stage 3. AIDS. The T cell count falls below 200. People in this stage are vulnerable to opportunistic infections that can be life-threatening. Opportunistic infections are ones that occur only in people with severely compromised immune systems.