Stage 1 Acute HIV infection

Shortly after infection, HIV infection may not show up on an HIV antibody test, but the person is highly infectious and can spread the virus to others. This stage is window period.

At around 2 to 4 weeks, some people who are infected with HIV report having flu-like symptoms (often described as "the worst flu ever"). Symptoms can include: fever, tiredness, sore throat, rash, diarrhoea and swollen glands. They may last for a few days to several weeks.

Flu

Fever

Tiredness

Sore throat

Rash

Diarrhoea

Swollen glands

Having these symptoms alone doesn’t mean you have HIV. Other illnesses can cause similar symptoms.
Some people have no symptoms at all. The only way to know if you have HIV is to get tested.

Stage 2 Chronic HIV infection

After acute primary infection, HIV disease enters into its chronic phase. HIV may not cause any other symptoms. This means many people with HIV do not know they're infected. Anyone who thinks they could have HIV should get tested. Some people are advised to have regular tests as they're at particularly high risk.

However, the virus can destroy more CD4 cells and make copies of itself. The patient generally remains well for a few years before symptoms manifest. On average, 50% of HIV infected adults progress to AIDS in 10 years' time.

Stage 3 AIDS

When the infection progresses, there is a continuous decline of immunity of the body. A patient may have symptoms arising from opportunistic infections or from HIV itself. When the HIV disease worsens further, there could be malignancies such as Kaposi's sarcoma and lymphoma or major life-threatening opportunistic infections, such as Pneumocystis pneumonia. Effective treatment has altered the disease course.

For more information about common HIV-related complications, press here.