During acute seroconversion, theimmune systemwill produce defensiveantibodiesto help fight the virus and bring the infection under control.

Symptoms are typically described as being flu-like with mild fever and body ache.Swollen lymph nodesandrashmay also accompany.

Where they do vary is the rate of seroconversion.

Woman Doctor Discussion Guide

Verywell / Michela Buttignol

Among them areCD4 T-cells, the very cells that HIV preferentially targets.

It is for this reason that the CDC recommendsHIV testingfor anyone who seeks thediagnosisandtreatmentof an STD.

Get our printable guide for your next doctor’s appointment to help you ask the right questions.

They are considered “opportunistic” because an intact immune system would control them.

A CD4 count between 500 to 1,200 cells per cubic millimeter (cells/mm3) is considered normal.

Any value between 250 and 500 cells/mm3 is a threshold for defining immunosuppression.

The differences, in any, mainly involve a woman’s reproductive tract.

This may include anabnormal PAP smearor signs ofcervical dysplasia(a precancerous condition affecting the cervix).

This is the phase where the immune defenses have been all but wiped out, leaving you in animmunocompromisedstate.

These include infections and certain types of cancers as well.

Symptoms of AIDS in Women

The symptoms of AIDS vary little between women and men.

AIDS dementia complex) than men.

The one AIDS-defining condition exclusive to women is invasive cervical cancer (ICC).

As with other HIV-associated conditions, the risk of ICC increases with declines in the CD4 count.

This is unlike other AIDS-defining conditions that are rarely seen today due to the advent ofcombination antiretroviral therapy.

In some cases, women are disproportionately affected.

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Zanoni BC, Gandhi RT.Update on opportunistic infections in the era of effective antiretroviral therapy.Infect Dis Clin North Am.

Screening and treatment of cervical pre-cancer.

In: Comprehensive Cervical Cancer Control: A Guide to Essential Practice.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services HIV.gov.What are HIV and AIDS?.

Wang CCJ, Sparano J, Palefsky JM.HIV/AIDS, HPV and anal cancer.Surg Oncol Clin N Am.

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