Question

A patient at a clinic has tested positive for HIV. Her blood contained 700/µL CD4 T cells, and she does not have any apparent illness. Her infection is in which stage?

a) Acute stage
b) Latent stage
c) Chronic stage
d) Asymptomatic stage

Answer 1

The patient is in the asymptomatic stage of HIV infection, which is Stage 1, characterized by a CD4 T cell count of over 500/µL and the absence of apparent illness.

Step-by-step explanation:

A patient at a clinic has tested positive for HIV with a CD4 T cell count of 700/μL and is not showing any apparent illness. Given these details, her infection is at stage 1, which is the asymptomatic stage. During Stage 1: Acute HIV infection, patients will have more than 500 cells/μL CD4 T cells and may not show symptoms despite the high viral load in their blood. This stage is followed by stage 2: Clinical latency, where the CD4 T cell counts might drop to between 200 and 499 cells/μL, and patients may still not experience symptoms but HIV reproduces at low levels. Stage 3: Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is diagnosed when CD4 T cell count drops below 200 cells/μL, or when opportunistic infections occur, at which point symptoms become apparent and the immune system is significantly compromised.