As more cells are destroyed, our immune systems get weaker and can’t fight infections properly. This means we can get illnesses more easily. HIV treatment can stop this process so that the immune system can still do its job properly.

HIV and AIDS: what's the difference?

HIV is not the same as AIDS.  Being HIV positive doesn’t mean we've got AIDS or will get AIDS.  

AIDS is not a single disease. It is a group of illnesses that we might get that indicate that HIV has damaged our immune system so much that it’s not strong enough to fight off infections and other illnesses.    

There isn’t actually a test for AIDS and different countries have different ways of defining whether someone has AIDS. In the UK doctors look for specific illnesses, known as AIDS defining illnesses and opportunistic infections that only affect people with damaged immune systems. 

Will I get AIDS?

Effective HIV treatment means we may never develop AIDS.