HIV/AIDS

Symptoms, very similar to those of influenza, may appear between 2 and 8 weeks after infection:

• Fatigue
• Weight loss
• Night sweats
• Swollen nodes (armpits, neck, groin)
• Fever
• Muscle pain
• Skin rashes.
• Diarrhea

After this primary infection, the person with HIV no longer experiences any symptoms, but the virus continues to grow in the body.

Warning: the symptoms of primary HIV infection are very similar to those of the flu, and the flu is much more widespread. If you notice these symptoms, it's much more likely that you're actually suffering from the flu rather than HIV. Only a test carried out 6 weeks after taking a risk will tell you whether you've been infected with HIV.

For several months or years, HIV infection remains undetected. Then the disease - the AIDS stage - appears. At an advanced stage, it can lead to serious complications due to a decline in immune defenses: opportunistic infections and cancers.

If HIV infection is not treated in time, it progresses to AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome), with serious complications such as various infections, the risk of cancer and more serious cardiovascular disease, and even death.

HIV/AIDS screening is performed :

• via a blood test
• via an immediate result test

HIV/AIDS screening tests are available.

Partners should also be screened and treated to prevent the spread of the virus and, above all, to enable them to get treatment and thus avoid complications from the various infections they may contract.

In 2024, HIV treatment blocks the development of the virus in the body and reduces infection to the point where the virus is undetectable.

However, there is no cure for HIV, and treatment must be lifelong.

There are also preventive treatments against HIV that can be prescribed to HIV-negative* people at high risk of infection:

- PrEP (Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis): treatment to be taken on a daily basis or before any risk-taking**.

- TPE (Traitement Post-Exposition): emergency treatment to be taken as soon as possible and no later than 72 hours after taking a risk**.

These treatments block the installation and development of HIV in the body.

* HIV-negative people are people who are not infected with HIV.

** Unprotected or poorly protected sexual intercourse (condom breaks, etc.) using a means of protection is considered to be risk-taking.

Protecting yourself from HIV/AIDS:

- uses a condom (external or internal), a latex square (in case of menstruation)

- PrEP

- uses sterile injection equipment

To reduce the risk of microcracks, remember to use lubricant during sex.

For HIV-positive pregnant women, treatment is highly effective in reducing the risk of transmission from sire to child.