Dear doctor, could you tell me if a person infected for 14 years can die from AIDS without any opportunistic infections? How would that be? Thank you

It is not clear what you are asking about... virtually all of the causes of death from AIDS are also considered opportunistic infections (OI's). Years ago, the center for disease control (CDC) in the US developed a list of OI's that are the most common in people with AIDS - and these are the most likely things to cause life threatening infections. There may be some rare illnesses that can happen that are not on the 'official' list of OI's - but the list is somewhat arbitrary based on what was seen in the US. Of course - people with AIDS can also die of other things that all humans can die from - like heart disease, strokes, car accidents, and so on. And due to the success of antiviral treatments, the causes of death in people with HIV may be less due to the OI's and more from the usual things that happen as we age... altho with heart disease there is some recent concern that some of our medications may increase the risk of heart trouble due to changes in blood fats.

Hope that clarifies. CC