20.4.2  Clinical staging of HIV disease and AIDS

As time passes and the number of CD4 lymphocytes declines even further, to a very low level, the incidence of opportunistic infections and other health problems in PLHIV increase, and the person is said to have reached a particular stage of HIV disease. The final stage of this progressive deterioration is known as AIDS — Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome — based on diagnostic criteria developed by the World Health Organization (WHO).