HIV/AIDS Health Center

HIV can remain in the body for years without producing symptoms. In general, though, most people experience different symptoms in the different stages of infection, which include acute infection, clinical latent infection and AIDS.

Within the first month of becoming infected, many people come down with a flu-like illness, marked by fever, swollen lymph nodes, chills, sore throat and other flu symptoms. In HIV patients, this sickness is actually acute retroviral syndrome, and it is caused by the HIV virus reproducing very quickly in your body.

During clinical latent infection, many people experience almost no symptoms except for swollen lymph nodes. If you are receiving treatment at this stage, you can remain in it for many years.  

Once HIV has progressed to AIDS, symptoms typically become more severe. Such symptoms may include weight loss, cough, night sweats, sustained high fever and shortness of breath, among others.