COULD
IT BE
EARLY
HIV?
COULD IT BE EARLY HIV?
Early/Acute
Early HIV is the beginning stage of HIV, right after
someone gets the virus. During early HIV, the virus is
reproducing very rapidly, and HIV can be easily passed to
others through sex, or by sharing injection equipment.
Early HIV is sometimes called acute HIV.
Signs and Symptoms of Early/Acute HIV
• Sore throat
• Swollen glands
• Fever
• Rash
• Joint and muscle aches
• Diarrhea
• Tired feeling
• Tonsillitis
• Mouth sores
The signs and symptoms of early/acute HIV can begin
2 to 4 weeks before you can be diagnosed as living with
HIV. Symptoms can last for just a few days or weeks.
The signs and symptoms of early/acute HIV are similar to
the signs and symptoms of many other common
illnesses, like the flu, a cold, a sore throat, or
mononucleosis.
1
COULD IT BE EARLY HIV?
Is it COVID-19, the Flu, or Early/Acute HIV?
The symptoms of early/acute HIV and the flu are similar,
but not the same.
Flu and Early/Acute HIV Symptoms
Fever • Fatigue • Muscle aches
Headaches • Sore throat • Swollen lymph nodes
If you have these symptoms, you may have the flu:
COVID-19 or Flu Symptoms
Nasal congestion • Cough • Sneezing
Symptoms specific to Early/Acute HIV are:
Early/Acute HIV Symptoms
Rash • Mouth Sores
If you are not sure if you have COVID-19, the flu, or
early/acute HIV, ask yourself the questions below. If you
answer "Yes" to two or more questions, it could point to
HIV rather than the flu.
• Is there a rash?
• Did you have sex without a condom, or share
injection equipment in the past few weeks?
• Do you have a new sexually transmitted infection?
2
COULD IT BE EARLY HIV?
Testing for Early/Acute HIV infection
If you think you might have been exposed to HIV within
the last 30 days, and/or you have symptoms of early/acute
HIV, talk to your health care provider. Certain HIV tests
can detect HIV as early as 7-10 days after an exposure
took place. By talking with your health care provider
about your symptoms, and your recent risk for HIV, they
can make sure you get the proper tests to detect
early/acute HIV.
Waiting for Test Results
While waiting for your test results, it is very important for
you to know that if you have early/acute HIV, you can
pass the virus to your partners. Until you know your test
results, you can minimize the risk of spreading HIV to
others by:
• abstaining from sex
• using a condom every time, if you have sex
• not sharing needles or other drug paraphernalia,
if you use drugs.
Treatment of Early/Acute HIV infection
• If you find out you have early/acute HIV infection,
it is recommended that you start treatment as soon
as possible. The earlier the better! Early treatment
helps protect the immune system, and it also
reduces the chances that a person with HIV will
pass the virus on to their partners.
• HIV treatment is highly effective, simple to take, and
it has few or no side effects.
3
COULD IT BE EARLY HIV?
For More Information on Early/Acute HIV, HIV,
and/or AIDS:
New York State Department of Health:
• Call 1-800-541-AIDS English
• 1-800-233-SIDA Spanish
• Call the New York State HIV/AIDS
TDD Information Line at:
1-800-638-5163
Or visit [Link]/diseases/aids/
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
National AIDS Hotline:
• 1-800-342-2437 English
• 1-800-344-7432 Spanish
Or visit [Link]/hiv
Healthline
• [Link]/health/acute-hiv-infection
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