# HIV infection (asymptomatic)

- Category: chronic
- Review status: reviewed (every claim checked against a document named on this page)
- Sources: HIV and AIDS - StatPearls - NCBI Bookshelf (NBK534860) - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK534860/ · ICPC-3 (WONCA International Classification of Primary Care, 3rd edition) class BD03 - condition scope only, no dose · No dose - referral pathway, no medicine given in primary care · Swinkels HM, Nguyen AD, Samandari T, Gulick PG. HIV and AIDS. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2026 Jan-. Last Update: January 14, 2026.
- Verified date: 2026-08

## Verified against

- No dose - referral pathway, no medicine given in primary care

## Treatment metadata

- No drug therapy in primary care (Referral & Advice)

## Complete treatment card

```text
HIV INFECTION (ASYMPTOMATIC)
Sources: HIV and AIDS - StatPearls - NCBI Bookshelf (NBK534860) -
         https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK534860/ · ICPC-3 (WONCA International Classification
         of Primary Care, 3rd edition) class BD03 - condition scope only, no dose · No dose -
         referral pathway, no medicine given in primary care · Swinkels HM, Nguyen AD, Samandari T,
         Gulick PG. HIV and AIDS. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls
         Publishing; 2026 Jan-. Last Update: January 14, 2026.
Review status: REVIEWED against the source listed above  (2026-08)

IS IT THIS? - reference only, to read alongside your own examination
  TESTS (5)
    - This card is about HIV-2. Because early HIV-2 disease can be subtle, test on a low threshold
      when the patient has epidemiologic risk factors
    - Diagnosis relies on fourth-generation antigen-antibody testing that includes a step telling
      HIV-1 and HIV-2 apart
    - Red flag: viral load cannot exclude HIV-2, because up to 40% of untreated HIV-2 patients have
      no detectable virus. This does not apply to HIV-1
    - Genetic and phenotypic drug-resistance testing for HIV-2 is not validated or available for
      clinical use in the US. It IS available for HIV-1
    - Dual infection with HIV-1 should be excluded early during initial laboratory work-up
  Source  StatPearls "HIV-2 Infection" - disease-level clinical article
  Status  traced to the source above

1. NO DRUG THERAPY IN PRIMARY CARE (REFERRAL & ADVICE)    [1st line]
   Adult    HIV care in Egypt is centralised at designated specialist/MOH treatment centres; the
            GP's role is confirming the result, counselling on transmission prevention and partner
            testing, and referring for ART initiation and follow-up, not prescribing ART directly. -
            Refer, with advice
   Peds     Children follow the same pathway: recognise and refer. No primary-care medicine is
            implied.
   Source   No dose - referral pathway, no medicine given in primary care
   Why      HIV care in Egypt is centralised at designated specialist/MOH treatment centres; the
            GP's role is confirming the result, counselling on transmission prevention and partner
            testing, and referring for ART initiation and follow-up, not prescribing ART directly.
   Caution  No medicine is prescribed for this in primary care - this entry is for recognition and
            referral. Anything given is decided by the service it is referred to.
            RED FLAG - All patients diagnosed with HIV should be started on ART as soon as possible
            after diagnosis.
            RED FLAG - HIV-2 has intrinsic drug resistance to all non-nucleoside reverse
            transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs), rendering them ineffective.
            RED FLAG - Pregnancy (urgent referral to prevent mother-to-child transmission), recent
            high-risk exposure needing post-exposure prophylaxis assessment, or any new symptoms
            suggesting progression to symptomatic disease.

Prices are indicative (dataset snapshot 2026-06); verify with the pharmacy.
```

---

Dawaa Reference is a reference for prescribers, not a medical device, and does not replace clinical judgement.

[Privacy policy](/privacy)