The HIV infection is caused by the Human Immunodeficiency Virus. You can get infected by HIV if you come in contact with infected body fluids of other persons. This includes blood, semen, and vaginal fluid.

Common Causes of Infection

• The most common cause of HIV infection is unprotected sex with a partner who is already infected with HIV.
• If you share needles, such as for taking drugs, with someone who is already infected.
• The other cause is hereditary. A baby may get it from its mother during birth or pregnancy or during breastfeeding.

Some Myths about HIV

• HIV does not spread by casual contact, even if that is with an infected person.

What Happens After the Infection

As the virus enters your body it attacks the immune system. At this point, you are not an AIDS patient, but you do have HIV. So HIV and AIDS are not the same in the primary stage. It is then that you may develop symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, fatigue, headache, sore throat, swollen lymph nodes, muscle aches, fever etc. However, these symptoms are more in the nature of flu than anything else. Moreover, the symptoms die to subside within a period of 7 to 10 days.

The spread of the Infection

As the virus defeats the immune system, it starts to destroy the CD4+ cells. Nevertheless, even at this stage, HIV and AIDS are not synonymous. The CD+4 cells are a kind of white blood cells which are responsible for defending the body against infections. As these cells continue to be destroyed, the immune strength continues to go down. Ultimately, the immunity comes down to such a level that it is no longer able to defend the body against even minor infections. At this advanced stage, HIV and AIDS are synonymous. However, there is a huge timeline of about 10-12 years from the initial infection to full-blown HIV and AIDS.