As a result, I have received many e-mails asking how one tells whether it is HIV or any other disease. It is difficult to give a definite answer for the clinical manifestations of primary HIV infection. Fever is a consistent sign in patients with symptomatic primary HIV infection and may or may not be associated with night sweats. All these signs and symptoms should however be put into context in order to suspect HIV infection. For example, the patient should be asked about recent sexual contact, that is, two to six weeks preceding the development of these signs and symptoms.
Many patients think it is malaria whenever they get fever.
Because of the HIV pandemic, cryptococcal meningitis is becoming the most common type of meningitis in Zimbabwe. Left untreated, cryptococcal meningitis is a fatal disorder. Even with aggressive treatment, the mortality due to cryptococcal meningitis is very, very high. For those on medical aid it is paid for. Pfizer, the drug company that manufactures Flucona-zole, has offered the drug at a very reduced price in South Africa.