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HIV & AIDS: The Basics

What’s the Difference Between HIV and AIDS?
HIV stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus. Let’s break it down:

Human – Meaning only humans can contract this strain of the virus.
Immunodeficiency – Affecting the immune system and causing it to weaken.
Virus – A microorganism that replicates inside a host organism’s cell.

HIV is a virus that we know causes AIDS. It enters the body and infects immune system cells, as well as other cells in the body -- causing more copies of the virus to be produced. By contrast, AIDS stands for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome:

Acquired – It happens in people who already have been infected with HIV
Immune – Affecting the immune system
Deficiency – Weakening
Syndrome – A collection of symptoms that indicate a disease.

AIDS is a diagnosis given by a doctor. People get an AIDS diagnosis only when they meet a specific set of criterion. For example, their white blood cell (CD4+ cells) count is below 200 or they have been diagnosed with an opportunistic infection or cancer. Here is a full explanation of how doctors make AIDS diagnoses.

Not everyone with HIV has AIDS. But everyone diagnosed with AIDS has HIV. This distinction is critical – an AIDS diagnosis can have huge implications when it comes to accessing benefits such as housing, insurance, legal services and more.

In San Francisco...

• Roughly 1 in 4 gay, bisexual, and transgender men in San Francisco have HIV.
• Of these, 20% are unaware that they are HIV-positive.


This site contains HIV prevention messages that may not be appropriate for all audiences. If you are not seeking such information, or may be offended by such materials, please exit this website.
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