Question: What Are the AIDS Defining Illnesses?
AIDS is a classification assigned to someone who has been diagnosed with the most serious opportunistic infections and illnesses; those illnesses said to be AIDS defining. Below is a list of AIDS defining illnesses.
Important Fact #1: Keep in mind that these diseases can occur in people without HIV infection, however such a person would not be classified as having AIDS.
Important Fact #2: While they are often used interchangeably, HIV and AIDS are very different.
Answer: They include:
- Candidiasis of bronchi, trachea, or lungs
- Cervical cancer (invasive)
- Coccidioidomycosis, Cryptococcosis, Cryptosporidiosis
- Cytomegalovirus disease
- Encephalopathy (HIV-related)
- Herpes simplex (an infection lasting longer than 1 month or in an area other than the skin such as esophagus or lungs)
- Histoplasmosis
- Isosporiasis
- Kaposi's sarcoma (KS)
- Lymphoma characterized by swollen lymph nodes (lymphadenopathy)
- Mycobacterium avium complex
- Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP)
- Pneumonia (recurrent)
- Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML)
- Salmonella septicemia (recurrent)
- Toxoplasmosis of the brain
- Tuberculosis
- Wasting syndrome
Sources: Information provided in part by the Centers for Disease Control, 2004
