What Are the AIDS Defining Illnesses?

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
• 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}