The virus, the syndrome, and the stages

AIDS, in the material, is acquired immune deficiency syndrome: acquired, because it is not hereditary, and an immune deficiency because HIV destroys the cells that defend the body. A person is judged to have AIDS when HIV has lowered immunity far enough for a named opportunistic infection to appear, or when the CD4 T-cell count falls below 200 per cubic millimeter, or when a condition such as Pneumocystis pneumonia is present. Infection is described as coming mainly through risky sexual contact — not knowing a partner’s status, and not using a condom.

The course is set out in stages. One passage places the acute stage some three to four weeks after infection, with nonspecific symptoms in 30 to 50 percent of people, lasting about ten to fifteen days; another places the same acute syndrome at three to six weeks, with a flu-like picture that can, in severe cases, include meningitis or encephalitis. After those symptoms fade, a clinical latent period without special symptoms can last, on average, some eight to ten years, though the length varies, and the virus can still be passed on. A later symptomatic period brings weight loss, fatigue, and then opportunistic infection or malignancy as CD4 cells fall.

Treatment, the UNAIDS statement, and prevention

There is, the material says, no cure yet, but antiretroviral therapy that reduces the amount of virus in the body helps the person stay well and lowers the chance of passing it on. Most people, if they take the medicine as prescribed, can bring the virus under control within six months.

UNAIDS has declared that a person who takes the medicine well enough for the virus to be undetectable has no sexual infectiousness, and the material says the United States, the United Kingdom, and all countries have adopted that statement — that is the account as written, not a later official coverage rate. Prevention, in the same pages, turns on using a condom correctly and continuously. The same Korean report, at fuller length, is on CampusDown.

Sources

1. AIDS as acquired immune deficiency syndrome; HIV destroys immune cells. Diagnosis: CD4 T-cells below 200/mm³, or a named opportunistic infection such as Pneumocystis pneumonia. Main pathway: risky sexual contact. Acute stage: 3–4 weeks in one passage (30–50%, symptoms 10–15 days), 3–6 weeks in another. Latent period on average 8–10 years, still transmissible. No cure yet; antiretroviral therapy, viral control often within 6 months if taken as prescribed. UNAIDS statement on undetectable = no sexual infectiousness; the material says the US, UK, and all countries have adopted it — as written, not a later official rate. Prevention: correct, continuous condom use.

Last updated: 14 November 2026