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HIV/AIDS
Dec 15, 1999

What is the incubation period for HIV/AIDS?

Response from Dr. Pavia

It would help to know what specifically you are asking about. One question is how long does it take to develop a positive blood test after being infected. The usual use of incubation period is the time from infection until you develop disease. About two thirds of people develop symptoms (called the acute retroviral syndrome) 1 to 4 weeks after being infected but these go away on there own. Without any treatment, the average time from being infected to developing symptoms of AIDS is 10-11 years, but it varies dramatically from person to person. There are some great basic references on other parts of this site if you want to know more.

ATP



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