What are opportunistic diseases?
Most AIDS patients studied have had one or both of two rare diseases; Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP), a parasitic infection of the lungs; and a type of cancer known as Kaposi’s sarcoma (KS). KS usually occurs anywhere on the surface of the skin or in the mouth. In early stages, it may look like a bruise or blue-violet or brownish spot. The spot or spots persist, and may grow larger. KS may spread to, or appear in, other organs of the body. PCP has symptoms similar to any other form of severe pneumonia, especially cough, fever, and difficulty in breathing. There are now drugs available to help prevent PCP. Other opportunistic infections also do occur and include tuberculosis, cervical cancer, candidiasis (thrush), mycobacterial infections, retinitis, taxoplasmosis, and cryptosporidiosis to name a few.
