Outlook

There is no cure for HIV infection. Before we had any treatment for the virus, people with AIDS lived only for a couple of years. Fortunately, medications have substantially improved the outlook and survival rates. Prevention efforts have sharply reduced HIV infection in young children and have the potential to sharply limit new infections in other populations.

• Medications have extended the average life expectancy, and many people can expect to live for decades with proper treatment. An increasing number have a normal life expectancy if they adhere carefully to medication regimens.



• Medications help the immune system recover and fight infections and prevent cancers from occurring. Eventually, the virus may become resistant to the available drugs, and the manifestations of AIDS may develop.



• Drugs used to treat HIV and AIDS do not cure the infection. It is important for the person to remember that he or she is still contagious.



• Intensive research efforts are being focused on developing new and better treatments. Although currently there is no promising vaccine, work continues on this front.

Picture

This transmission electron micrographic image shows mature forms of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in a tissue sample. (Source credit: CDC)