HIV
Human immunodeficiency virus
What it is
HIV is a virus that slowly weakens the body’s defence (immune) system. Without treatment, it can lead to AIDS and serious infections. With daily HIV medicines (ART), people can live long, healthy lives.
Common signs
- Often no signs for many years
- Flu-like illness a few weeks after infection
- Weight loss
- Frequent infections, fevers, or long-lasting diarrhoea
- Mouth sores or thrush (white patches in the mouth)
How it is diagnosed
HIV is found with a blood test from a finger prick. A positive rapid test is confirmed with a second test. The only way to know is to test.
Tests
- HIV rapid test — shows if you have HIV
- Viral load — shows how much virus is in your blood; the aim is ‘undetectable’
- CD4 count — shows how strong your immune system is
- TB screening — HIV makes TB more likely
How food affects it
Food cannot treat or cure HIV. Only HIV medicines (ART) control the virus — take them every day and keep taking them. Good food helps you stay strong, fight infections and cope with medicines. Clean, safe food matters because infections hit harder with HIV.
Food as medicine, alongside your medicine. Food works alongside your medicines, not instead of them. Never stop or change your tablets without talking to your health worker.
Eat often
- Beans, cowpeas, groundnuts, eggs and fish — protein to keep muscles strong
- Leafy greens (ugu, kontomire, sukuma wiki, cassava leaves) and fruit (pawpaw, mango, orange, guava)
- Orange sweet potato, pumpkin and red palm oil in small amounts — vitamin A
- Whole grains like millet, sorghum, maize and teff
- Clean boiled or treated water
Eat in moderation
- Fried foods and fatty meat
- Sugary foods and drinks
- Stock cubes and salt
Avoid or cut down
- Alcohol — harms the liver and makes it easy to miss medicines
- Herbs or mixtures sold as an ‘HIV cure’ — they do not work and can harm you
- Raw or undercooked eggs, meat and fish
- Unboiled milk and unsafe water
- Food left out for many hours
Get help urgently
See a health worker quickly if you have a cough for more than 2 weeks, fever, night sweats, diarrhoea that will not stop, or fast weight loss. Go now if you have a severe headache, stiff neck, confusion or trouble breathing.
General information, not a diagnosis. Always follow the advice of your health worker.