Aids after getting malaria?

Question

Can you get Aids/HIV after you are already infected with malaria?

Someone told me that once you have malaria, certain cells in your body don't live long enough for HIV virus to manifest in your cells.

Answer 1

Yes you can. HIV attacks cells in the immune system (lymphocytes) while malaria attacks red blood cells. That advice you got was wrong. In fact, latest research (Dec.06 I believe) is showing that people co-infected with HIV and malaria do worse, as the progression of both is accelerated. Remember, any heavy/prolonged infection weakens the immune system, and a weakened immune system predisposes to infection/severe infection.

Vicious circle then. Weak immune system makes malaria infection worse, while heavy malaria infection weakens immune system.

Maybe the person was referring to the link between certain anaemia types (sickle-cell/thallasemia carriers) and malaria, where it is true that carriers of these genetic diseases have some degree of protection against malaria, largely due to the fact that the malaria parasite needs intact blood cells with healthy levels of folate, etc to survive.

Hope this helps.

Answer 2

You can still get AIDS after malaria, AIDS and malaria affect different blood cells, the HIV virus attacks T cells, which are white blood cells, while the malaria parasite affects red blood cells.

Answer 3

hiv/aids could be dormant in a person's system up to 10 years or more from the time you pick it up till the time you realize you have it. Aids/hiv is caused from contact with an infected person thru bodily fluids.