HIV: abbreviation of: Human Immunodeficiency Virus
More information on medical condition: HIV/AIDS:
HIV: Human immunodeficiency virus, the cause of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS).
Source: National Institute of Health
HIV: Another name for HIV/AIDS.
HIV (condition): HIV is a sexually transmitted virus and AIDS is the progressive immune failure that HIV causes.
HIV (condition): HIV is a sexually transmitted virus and AIDS is the life-threatening immune failure that occurs late in the progression of HIV. AIDS was once in the top ten cause of death in the USA but has dropped out owing to better treatments and reduced transmission.
Very early stages of HIV just after infection resemble the flu or another viral infection. There then follows a latent stage (often years) with no symptoms, and then an early AIDS stage (also often years) with various symptoms, many of them non-specific and easy to misdiagnose. AIDS becomes much more characteristic in the latter stages of the disease where immune failure becomes almost total.
HIV: The term AIDS applies to the most advanced stages of HIV infection. CDC developed official criteria for the definition of AIDS and is responsible for tracking the spread of AIDS in the United States. (Source: excerpt from HIV Infection and AIDS, An Overview, NIAID Fact Sheet: NIAID)
AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) was first reported in the United States in 1981. It is caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a virus that destroys the body's ability to fight off infection. (Source: excerpt from Sexually Transmitted Diseases, NIAID Fact Sheet: NIAID)
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