Healthy New Jersey

HIV Services

Overview

Key Points
  • HIV is a virus that compromises the body's immune system.
  • The only way to know if you have HIV is to get tested.

General Information

HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) is a virus that compromises the body's immune system. It attacks cells that help the body fight infection, making a person more vulnerable to other infections and diseases. Without treatment, it can lead to AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome). AIDS is the late stage of HIV infection that occurs when the body’s immune system is badly damaged because of the virus.  In the U.S., most people with HIV do not develop AIDS because HIV medicine taken as prescribed stops the progression of the disease.

A person with HIV is considered to have progressed to AIDS when:

  • the number of their CD4 cells falls below 200 cells per cubic millimeter of blood (200 cells/mm^3). (In someone with a healthy immune system, CD4 counts are between 500 and 1,600 cells/mm^3)
  • they develop one or more opportunistic infections regardless of their CD4 count.

Without HIV medicine, people with AIDS typically survive about 3 years. Once someone has a dangerous opportunistic illness, life expectancy without treatment falls to about 1 year. HIV medicine can still help people at this stage of HIV infection, and it can even be lifesaving. But people who start HIV medicine soon after they get HIV experience more benefits—that’s why HIV testing is so important. There is currently no effective cure. Once people get HIV, they have it for life. But proper medical care can control the virus. People with HIV who get on and stay on effective HIV treatment can live long, healthy lives and protect their partners. The only way to know if you have HIV is to get tested.

You can find HIV testing sites here.

For more information on HIV, visit hivinfo.nih.gov/understanding-hiv/fact-sheets/hiv-and-aids-basics.

Read Next
Symptoms

Back
to top