what causes a person to get hiv
People who have HIV and donât get treatment almost always die from the virus. But with medication, people with HIV can be healthy and live a long time. Whatâs the difference between HIV and AIDS? HIV is the virus that causes AIDS. AIDS stands for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. HIV and AIDS are not the same thing. And people with HIV do not always have AIDS. HIV is the virus thatâs passed from person to person. Over time, HIV destroys an important kind of the cell in your immune system (called CD4 cells or T cells) that helps protect you from infections. When you donât have enough of these CD4 cells, your body canât fight off infections the way it normally can.