Author | Jack Dehovitz, MD, MPH

June 01, 2005

This case highlights the importance of detecting HIV infection in its earliest stages. Each year, 40,000 new cases of HIV infection are diagnosed in the United States; however, very few of these are identified at the acute infection stage. Diagnosis of primary HIV infection is important because it improves the patient's chances for a good outcome, reduces the risk of transmission, and provides epidemiologic data on virus strains in the community.