The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defines an HIV+ person with a CD4 cell count of 200 or less as having AIDS. The CDC has also developed a list of more than 20 opportunistic infections (OIs) that are considered AIDS-defining conditions (see below). If you have HIV and one or more of these OIs, you have a diagnosis of AIDS.

This list comes from a government report and contains medical terms. If you have any questions, contact a treatment educator at a local AIDS service organization or call an AIDS information line such as the Project Inform National HIV/AIDS Treatment Hotline at 800-822-7422.

• Candidiasis of bronchi, trachea, or lungs
• Candidiasis, esophageal
• Cervical cancer, invasive
• Coccidioidomycosis, disseminated or extrapulmonary
• Cryptococcosis, extrapulmonary
• Cryptosporidiosis, chronic intestinal (greater than 1 month's duration)
• Cytomegalovirus disease (other than liver, spleen, or nodes)
• Cytomegalovirus retinitis (with loss of vision
• Encephalopathy, HIV-related
• Herpes simplex: chronic ulcer(s) (greater than 1 month's duration); or bronchitis, pneumonitis, or esophagitis
• Histoplasmosis, disseminated or extrapulmonary
• Isosporiasis, chronic intestinal (greater than 1 month's duration)
• Kaposi's sarcoma
• Lymphoma, Burkitt's (or equivalent term)
• Lymphoma, immunoblastic (or equivalent term)
• Lymphoma, primary, of brain
• Mycobacterium avium complex or M. kansasii, disseminated or extrapulmonary
• Mycobacterium tuberculosis, any site (pulmonary or extrapulmonary) Mycobacterium, other species or unidentified species, disseminated or extrapulmonary
• Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia
• Pneumonia, recurrent
• Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy
• Salmonella septicemia, recurrent
• Toxoplasmosis of brain
• Wasting syndrome due to HIV