Such patients have to be put on prophylaxis against PCP with one tab of this medication every day. Most of the episodes of genital and herpes labialis are thought to be reactivation of the latent infection. For prevention continuous therapy may have to be given. Primary infection with varicella zoster virus leads to severe chicken pox in HIV patients. Herpes zoster tend to occur within months of the primary infection rather than years after the primary infection in case of non-HIV individuals.
Oral acyclovir is the preffered therapy.
Cytomegalovirus disease Retinitis is the most common manifestation of the CMV infection in the HIV patients. The symptoms include light flashes, floaters, loss of central and peripheral visual fields and blurred vision. Ganciclovir is used in this condition. Most common manifestation is encephalitis. It presents with severe headache, focal neurological deficits, fever, confusion.