HIV and the Most Common Opportunistic Infections

If you are living with HIV, you can live a long and healthy life on effective ART treatments, avoiding HIV-related conditions. But you may have a weakened immune system if you aren't taking ART or do not have a suppressed viral load, you could be susceptible to opportunistic infections. Some of these infections can happen to anyone but are usually harmless in people with a healthy immune system, but if you are living with HIV, you may get them more often or they may be more severe. However, they are preventable, particularly if you have ART(HIV medicine) that lowers the HIV in your body. This way, your immune system can recover and fight off the infections. Just make sure you regularly talk to your doctor and take your meds as prescribed. Here are some opportunistic infections to watch for if you are living with HIV. 

Thrush is an infection you get from a fungus called Candida. It affects your skin, nails, and mucous membranes in your body, like the inside of your mouth or vagina. Doctors consider it an opportunistic infection when you get frequent and ongoing thrush in your mouth or vagina or when you get it in your esophagus, airways, or lungs.

This fungus gets into your body through your lungs, and it often causes pneumonia. It can affect the brain, spinal cord, and other parts of the body, too.

As many as 85% of people have CMV in their bodies by the time they’re 40. But when your immune system’s healthy, CMV doesn’t have much of an effect on you. When you have HIV, you’re at greater risk of problems from CMV, such as an eye infection called retinitis.

Most people have inactive HSV in their bodies. Stress, infections, or a suppressed immune system can activate it and cause sores around the mouth, anus, or genitals. If your HIV has damaged your immune system, HSV could do more serious damage and  affect your esophagus, lungs, or airways.

MAC lives in the soil, in food, and in animals. But it tends to only lead to sickness in people with weakened immune systems, such as those with HIV. When it does, MAC can cause fevers, night sweats, loss of appetite, weight loss, diarrhea, weakness, fatigue, and abdominal pain.

PCP is a fungal infection that causes serious lung problems. Without treatment, you can die from it. But case numbers in people who have HIV have gone way down since the introduction of antiretroviral therapy (ART).

PML is a serious infection of deep brain tissue called white matter. It gets worse over time and causes death in about half the people it strikes. ART may slow its progress.

Salmonella gets in your body through infected food. The typical symptoms (diarrhea, nausea, fever, and headache) are often more severe in people with HIV.

A parasite called Toxoplasma gondii causes this infection. You get it from touching contaminated cat feces, eating contaminated meat, or drinking contaminated water. It causes swollen lymph nodes and muscle aches that can last for a month or more. Severe cases can damage your eyes and brain.

TB is a highly contagious bacterial infection of the lungs. It sometimes affects the spine, brain, and kidneys, too. You get TB from close contact with someone who has it. If you get TB, your doctors consider that a sign that your HIV has progressed to AIDS.