Definitions for "Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome"
A condition that results when infection with HIV causes a breakdown of the body's ability to fight other infections.
The most severe manifestation of infection with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC) lists numerous opportunistic infections and neoplasms (cancers) that, in the presence of HIV infection, constitute an AIDS diagnosis. There are also instances of presumptive diagnoses when a person's HIV status is unknown or not sought. This was especially true before 1985 when there was no HIV-antibody test. In 1993, CDC expanded the criteria for an AIDS diagnosis to include CD4+ T-cell count at or below 200 cells per microliter in the presence of HIV infection. In persons (age 5 and older) with normally functioning immune systems, CD4+ T-cell counts usually range from 500-1,500 cells per microliter. Persons living with AIDS often have infections of the lungs, brain, eyes, and other organs, and frequently suffer debilitating weight loss, diarrhea, and a type of cancer called Kaposi's Sarcoma. See HIV Disease; Opportunistic Infections; AIDS Wasting Syndrome.
R´þ¥Í¯f, Àò±o§K¬Ì¯Ê³´ºî¦X¯g, An infectious disease caused by a retrovirus designated as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The disease is characterized by a gradual depletion of T lymphocytes, recurring fever, weight loss, multiple opportunistic infections, and rare forms of pneumonia and cancer associated with collapse of the immune system.