Transient High Levels of Viremia in Patients with Primary Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Infection

PRIMARY infection with the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) associated with seroconversion is most commonly manifested as an acute illness characterized by fever, myalgia, rash, gastrointestinal symptoms, and at times neurologic complications. 1 2 3 The period from the onset of illness to seroconversion has ranged from eight days to three months, 3 , 4 with virus detectable in the cerebrospinal fluid, peripheral-blood mononuclear cells (PBMC), and plasma before the development of an antibody response. 3 , 5 6 7 8 The acute nature of this clinical syndrome and its prompt resolution in one to two weeks suggest that the kinetics of HIV-1 replication in vivo change rapidly. To date, however, . . .