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If I get the virus does it mean I will get AIDS?

I'm recently found out I'm HIV positive. Does it mean i have AIDS?

Expert advice:

HIV infection occurs after the virus enters and establishes infection in the body. In the early stages people look and feel totally well. Even at this stage it is possible to diagnose HIV infection through a blood test. Only when the immune system becomes seriously damaged do persons begin to fall ill. The term AIDS is reserved for this late stage of infections.

Not everybody who is infected with HIV will develop AIDS at the same time. About 30% of patients develop AIDS 5 years after they are infected, and 50% will develop AIDS within 8 to 10 years. Others may be well for longer periods of time.

Since there is no cure, the only way to beat AIDS is to not let virus into your body.

-- Source: Action for AIDS Singapore

Reader's Comments

Comment #1 was deleted by its author on 2013-08-22 16:33
simonsay
11 years ago
my pal was diagnosed of STD after a raw sexperience. a few months later, he has stopped contacting me. i fear for the worst. could his condition might not be STD but a more serious AIDS infection?
if that were to be the case, i would like to be with him and help him but then again he has stopped answering my calls or even responding to my sms-ses.

what should i do?
randynnyc
11 years ago
Just because you get infected with HIV does not mean that you will eventually get AIDS. If you become infected with HIV you should see a specialist right away, start monitoring your blood levels, and go on an antiretroviral therapy. In today's world, if you become infected and begin treatment you can expect to live a long normal life.