In which of the following stages of HIV infection do people have a large amount of HIV in their blood and are very contagious?

Correct option is A

Ans: (a) Acute HIV infection Sol. During the acute HIV infection stage, which occurs 2 to 4 weeks after exposure, there is a rapid increase in the amount of HIV in the blood. This is the time when individuals are most contagious, as the virus is replicating quickly, and the infected person has a high viral load. This stage is often referred to as acute retroviral syndrome (ARS) and is the phase when people can transmit the virus most easily to others.
Explanation of each option:
· (a) Acute HIV infection: Correct answer. During acute HIV infection, the virus rapidly multiplies in the body, and individuals are very contagious due to the high viral load in their blood.
· (b) Chronic HIV infection: In the chronic HIV infection stage (also known as the clinical latency phase), the virus replicates at lower levels, and the viral load is typically much lower than during the acute phase. People can still transmit the virus, but they are less contagious than during the acute phase.
· (c) Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS): By the time HIV progresses to AIDS, the immune system is severely weakened, and the viral load may still be high, but the person is not necessarily as contagious as in the acute phase.
· (d) Stage 4 HIV infection: Stage 4 is often used as a clinical descriptor for AIDS-related complications, but it is not specifically used to describe viral load or contagiousness in this context. Acute HIV infection is the stage with the highest contagiousness.