Question
How important are seroconversion times?
18 January 2008. Related: All topics, HIV transmission, Newly diagnosed.
My question is why one person with HIV seroconverts for almost six months and another person seroconverts for 2 weeks. Are there any implications for this?
Answer
Your question could be read two ways, so I will answer them both.
i) you could be asking about how long seroconversion symtoms last. For example, for one person the symptoms could go on for weeks and another person might have symptoms that last for several months.
Most people only have symptoms that last a few weeks. Only a small percentage of people have symptoms that last longer, or have more serious symptoms and even opportunistic infections.
In this cse, then generally, the worse the symptoms, the more likely that HIV is going to progress more quickly, and you may need to start treatment after a few years, rather than after 5-6 years.
Responses to treatment are the same though, so more serious seroconversion symptoms are not thought to have any long-term impact on your health, as long as you