The table below shows examples of common opportunistic infections and cancers and the body systems that they occur in.
System |
Examples of Infection/Cancer |
Respiratory system |
Pneumocystis jirovecii Pneumonia (PCP) Tuberculosis (TB) Kaposi’s Sarcoma (KS) |
Gastro-intestinal system |
Cryptosporidiosis Candida Cytomegolavirus (CMV) Isosporiasis ADVERTISEMENTS: Kaposi’s Sarcoma |
Central/ peripheral Nervous system |
Cytomegolavirus Toxoplasmosis ADVERTISEMENTS: Cryptococcosis Non Hodgkin’s lymphoma Varicella Zoster Herpes simplex |
Skin |
Herpes simplex Kaposi’s sarcoma Varicella Zoster |
Most AIDS-associated conditions are rarely serious in healthy individuals. In people with AIDS, however, these infections are often severe and sometimes fatal because the immune system is so damaged by HIV that the body cannot fight them off.