Having HIV means you have or will develop AIDS
Myth. Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is an infection that targets CD4 immune cells and the brain. During the course of untreated infection, people will experience a gradual decline in CD4 cells that will eventually put them at risk for developing infections or cancers that are included in the definition of the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Other symptoms that meet the criteria for AIDS are wasting (for example, extreme weight loss) and dementia. Having HIV means you are at risk for developing AIDS but not that you have it. In fact, those consistently taking currently available anti-HIV medications are likely to completely control the infection, never progress to AIDS, and live a life span approaching that of those without HIV infection.