How HIV develops

[wambb]

Hi

A week or so ago there was some discussion on one of the topics about how HIV develops after initial infection. A couple of months ago I found and downloaded a jpg diagram which shows what happens. So I wanted to post a link to it. However I couldn`t find where I got it from.

However after a lot of digging around I finally found the web page again. Only trouble is I now can`t find the topic. So here is the URL, it is quite a good description of what happens, but it would be nice if they added a curve which show how the antibodies develop, as that would help to explain why you need to wait for 3 months to get a definitive negative result.

http://www.tht.org.uk/myhiv/HIV-and-you/Simple-science/Whats-happening

I think that typically, sero-conversion symptoms occur around month 2, but there can be quite big variations in this, and it also shows why you are highly infectious during the first 3 months of infection.

Hope this helps.

[Guest JizzDumpWI]

Thanks for posting.

[bearbandit]

Make friends with your mouse: the curve is lower down the page... Pre-treatment, it's the viral load that has to be watched. It's the fall in CD4 that comes into play after treatment has started

[TattPig]

Keep in mind that that diagram does not represent any real data. The blue line actually goes backwards in time--an impossibility. From a peak at 3 months, it goes back towards 2 months as it drops (sloping left). Do not trust that diagram to represent any real condition (including rates of increase or decrease); they really should redo that chart.

[bearbandit]

True, the blue line goes backwards, but if you correct what seems to be an artistic flourish, it's accurate. THT have a problem with many of their websites as they outsource them and even a simple graphic correction like this can take several months "because it's the web company's job" - be assured corrections and graphics are a long standing argument between me and them.