I was 16 when Magic Johnson announced he had AIDS. That was the first time it felt real to me. I remember a couple of friends crying because we all thought he would be dead in 1-2 years. And here he is and seems to be living a normal life.

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SoftTalker 4 hours ago | parent [-]

He doesn't have AIDS, he's HIV-positive.

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kstrauser 3 hours ago | parent [-]

I understand the difference between those statements, but confess that I'm not clear on the important distinction. Are there situations where untreated HIV doesn't progress to AIDS? Is the virus more transmissible in someone with AIDS than someone who's still at the HIV-positive stage?

Asking here because I don't know, and I think an answer might help others know, too.

(And to clarify, I genuinely don't know, and I'm asking from a supportive POV.)

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freeone3000 2 hours ago | parent [-]

We are unaware of any situations where HIV+ doesn’t turn into AIDS without treatment.

But being HIV+ is simply having a virus, not actively dying. HIV+ status also never clears - later tests that are “negative” mean your viral load is undetectable, at which point you can no longer transmit HIV to others. Undetectable = Untransmissable.

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kstrauser 2 hours ago | parent [-]

That all makes sense. A couple things I’m still not clear on:

* If someone has a negative test after treatment, but that’s not counted as “cured”, does that imply it could (or maybe will) come back if treatment is stopped?

* What’s the importance of the distinction between HIV+ vs AIDS, from a public health or human perspective? We don’t talk about influenza+ vs “has the flu”, at least as far as I know. Does HIV+ carry less stigma than AIDS?

Thanks for your earlier answer. I know this specific infection has lots of difficult history. It’s hard to formulate my questions without sounding suspiciously close to a sea lion or something, but I sincerely want to know. And yes, I could google it but then it wouldn’t be an interesting conversation, or one others could read and learn from.

	▲	freeone3000 41 minutes ago \| parent [-]
		* If someone has a negative test after treatment, but that’s not counted as “cured”, does that imply it could (or maybe will) come back if treatment is stopped? Yes. HIV+ patients require antiretroviral treatment for the remainder of their lives. Most are able to manage with a pill regimen. This is not to say it is cheap or side effect free, but most HIV+ people are able to live normal lives with outpatient support. (To link it back, PrEP is the same drug used to treat; ex, emtricitabine + tenofovir. Dosage, schedule differs. Other antiretrovirals may be chosen.) * What’s the importance of the distinction between HIV+ vs AIDS, from a public health or human perspective? We don’t talk about influenza+ vs “has the flu”, at least as far as I know. Does HIV+ carry less stigma than AIDS? Public health does talk about Inflenza (and other viral positive) individuals. Public messaging is usually with the term “carrier” - but in jargon, this implies that the individual will likely mot develop the disease themself, and will remain asymptomatic, which is untrue for HIV. NCoV-19, recently in the public eye more than any other virus, has a lot of literature around positive tests vs disease.