Which of the following is associated with AIDS?

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Multiple Choice

Which of the following is associated with AIDS?

Explanation:
Severe immune suppression allows infections that rarely occur in healthy people to take hold, and cytomegalovirus is a classic example among those. When the CD4 count drops in AIDS, CMV can reactivate and cause disease in several organs, most notably CMV retinitis, which can lead to vision loss, and CMV gastroenteritis or pneumonitis. This strong association with advanced HIV makes CMV the infection most characteristically linked to AIDS. Other options can occur in immunocompromised individuals as well—herpes zoster can appear with immune suppression, candidiasis is common early in HIV infection, and Epstein-Barr virus is linked to other AIDS-related conditions like lymphomas—but CMV stands out as the prototypical AIDS-associated opportunistic infection.

Severe immune suppression allows infections that rarely occur in healthy people to take hold, and cytomegalovirus is a classic example among those. When the CD4 count drops in AIDS, CMV can reactivate and cause disease in several organs, most notably CMV retinitis, which can lead to vision loss, and CMV gastroenteritis or pneumonitis. This strong association with advanced HIV makes CMV the infection most characteristically linked to AIDS.

Other options can occur in immunocompromised individuals as well—herpes zoster can appear with immune suppression, candidiasis is common early in HIV infection, and Epstein-Barr virus is linked to other AIDS-related conditions like lymphomas—but CMV stands out as the prototypical AIDS-associated opportunistic infection.

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