First stage of infection

If you become infected with HIV, you are likely to develop a short-lived illness called Primary HIV Infection (PHI). The symptoms of PHI usually start to appear within two weeks of infection and may continue for three to four weeks or more.

The symptoms of PHI are like those of flu, and usually include:

• fever
• aches in the joints and muscles
• fatigue
• headache
• swollen glands, often in the groin
• nausea
• diarrhoea.

However, one thing that distinguishes PHI from flu is that you probably won’t have any congestion in your nose or chest.

Not everyone experiences the same symptoms. About 10% of people experience no symptoms at all, and a small proportion of people develop a more severe illness.

What to do now

If you develop these symptoms and realise that you have been at risk of HIV infection recently, it might be a good idea to think about having an HIV test. There are several advantages to being tested early on in the course of HIV infection:

• You have much more time to get used to living with HIV before you have to start taking treatment permanently.
• Some doctors think that if you take a short course of HIV treatment early, you might be able to prolong the time you can stay off treatment later.
• You are more infectious during this period, and much more likely to pass HIV on to your partners, so knowing your status can help you to avoid passing HIV on to others.

What happens next

After six weeks or so the PHI symptoms disappear and you will feel and appear well. What is happening is that your immune system has contained the HIV to a degree, resulting in a lower amount of HIV in your blood (this is known as your viral load).

This next stage is known as Asymptomatic HIV infection, as you have no symptoms.