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WHO fact sheet on HIV and AIDS with key facts and information on signs and symptoms, transmission, risk factors, testing and counselling, prevention, treatment and WHO response.

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Video explaining more in depth about what HIV is, symptoms of it, and how it can be transmitted.

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HIV & AIDS - signs, symptoms, transmission, causes & pathology

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With HIV having multiple different stages, each of them have different symptoms that you could develop. Stage one consists of but is not limited to: fever, chills, muscle aches, sore throat, and fatigue. Stage two is a stage known as chronic HIV infection. This is because people can be in this stage and experience nothing. Stage three consists of but is not limited to: rapid weight loss, extreme fatigue, and memory loss.

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Read about the possible symptoms of HIV. The only way to know for sure if you have HIV is to get tested.

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Although there isn't a cure for HIV, its been proven that with medication it can actually lessen the amount of HIV within the blood stream. Doing so, patients with HIV have are less likely to transmit the  disease to anyone else.

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What is HIV treatment?

HIV treatment (antiretroviral therapy or ART) involves taking medicine as prescribed by a health care provider. HIV treatment reduces the amount of HIV in your body and helps you stay healthy.

There is no cure for HIV, but you can control it with HIV treatment.

Most people can get the virus under control within six months.

HIV treatment does not prevent transmission of other sexually transmitted diseases.

When should I start HIV treatment?

Start HIV treatment as soon as possible after diagnosis.

All people with HIV should take HIV treatment, no matter how long they've had HIV or how healthy they are.

Talk to your health care provider about any medical conditions or other medicines you are taking.

What if I delay HIV treatment?

If you delay treatment, HIV will continue to harm your immune system. Delaying treatment will put you at higher risk for transmitting HIV to your partners, getting sick, and developing AIDS.

Are there different types of HIV treatment?

There are two types of HIV treatment: pills and shots.

Pills are recommended for people who are just starting HIV treatment. There are many FDA-approved single pill and combination medicines available.

People who have had an undetectable viral load (or have been virally suppressed) for at least three months may consider shots.

What are HIV treatment shots?

HIV treatment shots are long-acting injections used to treat people with HIV. The shots are given by your health care provider and require routine office visits. HIV treatment shots are given once a month or once every other month, depending on your treatment plan.

Can I switch my HIV treatment from pills to shots?

Talk to your health care provider about changing your HIV treatment plan. Shots may be right for you if you are an adult with HIV who

has an undetectable viral load (or has achieved viral suppression),

has no history of treatment failure, and

has no known allergy to the medicines in the shot.

If you and your health care provider decide to switch your HIV treatment from pills to shots, you'll need to visit your provider regularly to receive your shots. Tell your health care provider as soon as possible if you've missed or plan to miss an appointment for your shot.

What are the benefits of taking my HIV treatment as prescribed?

HIV treatment reduces the amount of HIV in the blood (viral load).

Taking your HIV medicine as prescribed will help keep your viral load low.

HIV treatment can make the viral load very low (viral suppression). Viral suppression means having less than 200 copies of HIV per milliliter of blood.

HIV treatment can make the viral load so low that a test can't detect it (undetectable viral load).

If your viral load goes down after starting HIV treatment, that means treatment is working. Continue to take your HIV treatment as prescribed.

If you skip your HIV treatment, even now and then, you are giving HIV the chance to multiply rapidly. This could weaken your immune system, and you could become sick.

Getting and keeping an undetectable viral load (or staying virally suppressed) is the best way to stay healthy and protect others.

HIV treatment prevents transmission to others.

If you have an undetectable viral load, you will not transmit HIV through sex.

Having an undetectable viral load likely reduces the risk of HIV transmission through sharing needles, syringes, or other injection equipment (for example, cookers), but we don't know by how much.

Having an undetectable viral load also prevents perinatal transmission. If a person with HIV takes their HIV medicine as prescribed throughout pregnancy and childbirth and gives HIV treatment to their baby for 4 to 6 weeks after birth, the risk of transmission can be 1% or less.

Having an undetectable viral load greatly reduces the risk of transmitting HIV through breastfeeding but doesn't eliminate the risk. The current recommendation in the United States is that parents with HIV should not breastfeed their babies.

Taking your HIV medicine as prescribed helps prevent drug resistance.

Drug resistance develops when people with HIV don't take their pills as prescribed or miss their shots. The virus can change (mutate) and may limit your options for successful HIV treatment.

If you develop drug resistance, it will limit your options for successful HIV treatment.

Drug-resistant strains of HIV can be transmitted to others.

Does HIV treatment cause side effects?

HIV treatment can cause side effects in some people. However, not everyone experiences side effects. The most common side effects are

Nausea and vomiting

Diarrhea

Difficulty sleeping

Dry mouth

Headache

Rash

Dizziness

Fatigue

Temporary pain at the injection site (for shots)

Talk to your health care provider if your HIV treatment makes you sick. Your health care provider may prescribe additional medicines to help manage the side effects or may change your HIV treatment plan.

What should I do if I'm thinking about having a baby?
Let your health care provider know if you or your partner is pregnant or thinking about getting pregnant. They will determine the right type of HIV treatment to help prevent passing HIV to your baby.

Can I take birth control while on HIV treatment?
You can use any method of birth control to prevent pregnancy. However, some HIV treatment may make hormone-based birth control less effective. Talk to your health care provider about which method of birth control is right for you.

Will HIV treatment interfere with my hormone therapy?
Most HIV treatment can be used safely with gender-affirming or menopausal hormone therapy and testosterone replacement therapy. However, side effects may occur. Talk to your health care provider about taking HIV treatment and hormone therapy at the same time. Your health care provider will monitor any side effects and help make sure your HIV treatment and hormone therapy stay on track.

What if my HIV treatment is not working?

Your health care provider may change your type of HIV treatment.

A change is not unusual because the same HIV treatment does not affect everyone in the same way.

Sticking to my HIV treatment plan is hard. How can I deal with the challenges?

Tell your health care provider right away if you're having trouble sticking to your plan. Together you can identify the reasons you're skipping HIV treatment and decide how to address those reasons.

Talk to your health care provider about problems taking your HIV treatment.

Problems taking pills. This can make staying on this type of HIV treatment challenging. Your health care provider can offer tips for addressing these problems, including switching to an injectable HIV treatment option.

Side effects. Nausea or diarrhea can make a person not want to continue their HIV treatment. There are medicines or other support, like nutritional counseling, to make sure you're getting important nutrients. This can help with the most common side effects.

HIV treatment fatigue. Some people find that sticking to their HIV treatment plan becomes harder over time. Make it a point to talk to your health care provider about staying on your plan.

A busy schedule. Work or travel away from home can make it easy to forget to take pills or miss a shot. It may be possible to keep extra pills at work or in your car. But talk to your health care provider first as extreme temperatures can affect some medicine.

Talk to your health care provider if you miss doses of your HIV treatment.

Missing a dose of pills. In most cases, you can take your pills as soon as you realize you missed a dose. Then take the next dose at your usually scheduled time (unless your pharmacist or health care provider has told you otherwise).

Missing a shot. If you missed an appointment for your shot, talk to your health care provider about receiving your next shot.

Missing doses. Talk to your health care provider or pharmacist about ways to help you remember your HIV treatment. Your health care provider may even decide to change your treatment to fit your needs and life situation.
Find help for mental health or substance use disorders.

Being sick or depressed. How you feel mentally and physically can affect your ability to stick to your HIV treatment plan. Your health care provider, social worker, or case manager can refer you to a mental health provider or local support group.

Substance use (drug or alcohol). If substance use is interfering with your ability to keep yourself healthy, it may be time to find help.

Join a support group or ask your family and friends for support. They can help you stick to your treatment plan.

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What is HIV treatment? HIV treatment (antiretroviral therapy or ART) involves taking medicine as prescribed by a health care provider. HIV treatment reduces the amount of HIV in your body and helps you stay healthy. There is no cure for HIV, but you can control it with HIV treatment.

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Who knew! back in the 1930's it was suggested that HIV was transmitted to humans through a "bush meat trading" in Democratic Republic of Congo. The United States didn't see their first case of HIV until the last 1960's it was confirmed in a 16 year old boy who was from the midwest.

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Today, HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) remains one of the largest pandemics in the world. HIV is the same virus that can lead to AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome).

Researchers found the earliest case of HIV in a blood sample of a man from the Democratic Republic of Congo. It's said that the most common form of the virus spread from chimpanzees to humans sometime before 1931, most likely during "bush meat trading." While hunting chimpanzees, hunters would have come in contact with animal blood.

Before the 1980s, researchers estimate that about 100,000 to 300,000 people were living with HIV. The earliest case in North America was confirmed in 1968, in Robert Rayford, a 16-year-old who never left the Midwest and never received a blood transfusion. This suggests that HIV and AIDS may have been present in the United States before 1966.

But before AIDS was identified, the disease presented with other immunodeficiency conditions like Pneumocystic jirovecii pneumonia (PCP) and Kaposi sarcoma (KS). A year after scientists identified AIDS, they discovered the cause: HIV.

Originally people believed that only certain people were at risk for HIV. Media named them the "four-H club":

hemophiliacs, who received contaminated blood transfusions

homosexual men, who reported higher incidences of the disease

heroin users, and people who used drugs via injection

Haitians or people of Haitian origin, many cases of AIDS were reported in Haiti

But then, researchers studied how the disease spread. By 1984, they found that:

Females could get HIV through sex.

There were 3,064 diagnosed cases of AIDS in the United States.

Of those 3,064 cases, 1,292 people died.

The National Cancer Institute identified HIV as the cause of AIDS.

The number of cases continued to grow as the CDC refined their case definition, and scientists learned more about the virus.

By 1995, complications from AIDS was the leading cause of death for adults 25 to 44 years old. About 50,000 Americans died of AIDS-related causes. African-Americans made up 49 percent of AIDS-related deaths.

But death rates began to decline after multidrug therapy became widely available. The number of deaths has since dropped from 38,780 in 1996 to 14,499 in 2000.

Azidothymidine, also known as zidovudine, was introduced in 1987 as the first treatment for HIV. Scientists also developed treatments to reduce mother to child transmission.

In 1997, highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) became the new treatment standard. It caused a 47 percent decline in death rates.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the first rapid HIV diagnostic test kit in November 2002. The test kit allowed hospitals to provide results with 99.6 percent accuracy in 20 minutes.

Also in 2003, the CDC reported that 40,000 new transmissions occurred each year. More than half of those transmissions came from people who didn't know they had contracted the virus. It was later discovered the number was closer to 56,300 people living with HIV. This number remains roughly the same since the late 1990s.

The World Health Organization set a goal to bring treatment to 3 million people by 2005. By 2010, about 5.25 million people had treatment, and 1.2 million people would start treatment.

Current treatment

The FDA approved Combivir in 1997. Combivir combines two drugs into a single medication, making HIV medications easier to take.

Researchers continued to create new formulations and combinations to improve treatment outcome. By 2010, there were up to 20 different treatment options and generic drugs, which helped lower costs. The FDA continues to approve HIV medical products, regulating:

product approval

warnings

safety regulations

label updates

As of 2017, studies have shown that a person living with HIV who is on regular antiretroviral therapy that reduces the virus to undetectable levels in the blood is NOT able to transmit HIV to a partner during sex. The current consensus among medical professionals is that "undetectable = untransmittable."

Stigma in the early years

When the first few cases of AIDS emerged, people believed the disease was only contracted by men who had sex with men. The CDC called this "infection GRIDS," or gay-related immunodeficiency syndrome. Shortly after, the CDC published a case definition calling the disease AIDS.

Public response was negative in the early years of the epidemic. In 1983, a doctor in New York was threatened with eviction, leading to the first AIDS discrimination lawsuit.

Bathhouses across the country closed due to high-risk sexual activity. Some schools also barred children with HIV from attending.

In 1987, the United States placed a travel ban on visitors and immigrants with HIV. President Obama lifted this ban in 2010.

The United States government resisted funding needle exchange programs (NEPs) due to the war on drugs. NEPs were shown to be effective at reducing HIV transmission. Some believe that this resistance accounts for 4,400 to 9,700 avoidable transmissions.

Government support

Throughout the years, the government continues to fund HIV- and AIDS-related:

systems of care

counseling

testing services

treatment

studies and research

In 1985, President Ronald Reagan called research for AIDS "a top priority" for his administration. President Clinton hosted the first White House Conference on HIV and AIDS, and called for a vaccine research center. This center later opened in 1999.

Pop culture opens up conversations about HIV

Actor Rock Hudson was the first major public figure to acknowledge he had AIDS. After he died in 1985, he left $250,000 to set up an AIDS foundation. Elizabeth Taylor was the national chairperson until her death in 2011. Princess Diana also made international headlines after she shook hands with someone with HIV.

Pop culture icon Freddie Mercury, singer for the band Queen, also passed away from AIDS-related illnesses in 1991. Since then many other celebrities have revealed that they're HIV-positive. More recently, Charlie Sheen announced his status on national television.

In 1995, the National Association of People with AIDS founded National HIV Testing Day. Organizations, conventions, and communities continue to fight the stigmas attached to this infection.

Following the politics of blood bans

Prior to the epidemic, U.S. blood banks did not screen for HIV. When they started doing so in 1985, men who had sex with men were banned from donating blood. In December 2015, the FDA lifted some of its restrictions. Current policy says that donors can give blood if they have not had sexual contact with another man for at least one year.

In July 2012, the FDA approved pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). PrEP is a medication shown to lower the risk of contracting HIV from sexual activity or needle use. The treatment requires taking the medication on a daily basis.

Doctors recommend PrEP for people who are in a relationship with someone who has HIV. The US Preventive Services Task Force recommends it for all people at increased risk of HIV.

People who may benefit from PrEP include:

people in a non-monogamous relationship with a partner who is HIV-negative (PrEP reduces the risk of transmitting HIV to a partner)

people who have had anal sex without a condom or who have contracted a sexually transmitted disease (STD) in the past 6 months

people who have sex with men and women

people who have injected drugs, have been in drug treatment, or shared needles in the past 6 months

people who regularly have different sexual partners of unknown HIV status, especially if they inject drugs

PrEP is shown to reduce the risk for HIV infection by greater than 90 percent.

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The History of HIV: 1981-1990s, Cultural Response & More

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Today, HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) remains one of the largest pandemics in the world. HIV is the same virus that can lead to AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome). Researchers found the earliest case of HIV in a blood sample of a man from the Democratic Republic of Congo.

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Learning the basics about HIV can keep you healthy and  prevent HIV transmission. You can also download materials to share or watch videos on basic information about HIV.

What is HIV?

HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) is a virus that attacks the body's immune system. If HIV is not treated, it can lead to AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome).

There is currently no effective cure. Once people get HIV, they have it for life.

But with proper medical care, HIV can be controlled. People with HIV who get effective HIV treatment can live long, healthy lives and protect their partners.

Where did HIV come from?

HIV infection in humans came from a type of chimpanzee in Central Africa. Studies show that HIV may have jumped from chimpanzees to humans as far back as the late 1800s.

The chimpanzee version of the virus is called simian immunodeficiency virus. It was probably passed to humans when humans hunted these chimpanzees for meat and came in contact with their infected blood.

Over decades, HIV slowly spread across Africa and later into other parts of the world. The virus has existed in the United States since at least the mid to late 1970s.

To learn more about the history of HIV in the United States and CDC's response to the epidemic, see CDC's HIV and AIDS Timeline.

How do I know if I have HIV?

The only way to know if you have HIV is to get tested. Knowing your HIV status helps you make healthy decisions to prevent getting or transmitting HIV.

Are there symptoms?

For many, yes. Most people have flu-like symptoms within 2 to 4 weeks after infection. Symptoms may last for a few days or several weeks.

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.

What are the stages of HIV?

When people with HIV don't get treatment, they typically progress through three stages. But HIV treatment can slow or prevent progression of the disease. With advances in HIV treatment, progression to Stage 3 (AIDS) is less common today than in the early years of HIV.

People have a large amount of HIV in their blood and are very contagious.

Many people have flu-like symptoms.

If you have flu-like symptoms and think you may have been exposed to HIV, get tested.

This stage is also called asymptomatic HIV infection or clinical latency.

HIV is still active and continues to reproduce in the body.

People may not have any symptoms or get sick during this phase but can transmit HIV.

People who take HIV treatment as prescribed may never move into Stage 3 (AIDS).

Without HIV treatment, this stage may last a decade or longer, or may progress faster. At the end of this stage, the amount of HIV in the blood (viral load) goes up and the person may move into Stage 3 (AIDS).

The most severe stage of HIV infection.

People with AIDS can have a high viral load and may easily transmit HIV to others.

People with AIDS have badly damaged immune systems. They can get an increasing number of opportunistic infections or other serious illnesses.

Without HIV treatment, people with AIDS typically survive about three years.

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When people with HIV don't get treatment, they typically progress through three stages. Learn about the three stages of HIV.