Read condition-specific symptoms and clinical context for Human immunodeficiency virus. A virus that attacks the immune system and is managed with lifelong treatment.
HIV targets the white blood cells that coordinate immune defence, which makes other infections and some cancers more likely. WHO states there is no cure, but that with effective prevention, diagnosis, treatment and care HIV has become a manageable chronic condition. People on antiretroviral therapy with an undetectable viral load do not transmit HIV to their sexual partners.
HIV.gov states that within 2 to 4 weeks of infection about two-thirds of people have flu-like symptoms lasting from a few days to several weeks, while some people have no symptoms at all. Many of these symptoms have other causes, so only testing can establish HIV status.
Possible symptoms: Fever; Chills; Rash; Night sweats; Muscle aches; Sore throat; Fatigue; Swollen lymph nodes; Mouth ulcers.
CDC states that the only way to know HIV status is to get tested, and that treatment lets people live long, healthy lives and prevents transmission. Symptoms alone cannot establish or rule out HIV.
WHO describes signs that can appear as untreated infection progressively weakens the immune system. Treatment changes this course, and a person with chronic HIV infection may feel well and have no symptoms.
Possible symptoms: Swollen lymph nodes; Weight loss; Fever; Diarrhoea; Cough.
WHO notes that without treatment people living with HIV can develop severe illnesses including tuberculosis, cryptococcal meningitis, severe bacterial infections and cancers such as lymphomas and Kaposi's sarcoma. These are outcomes of untreated infection, not an inevitable course.
Source check: 2026-09-19. Educational content; independent scientific review remains pending.