What is pneumocystis jerovici pneumonia?
Pneumocystis jerovici is a fungus that is the most important cause of pneumonia in people with HIV/AIDS. People with HIV usually become susceptible to pneumocystis pneumonia when their CD4 cell count falls below 200/ul. In many people, this will be the first illness that marks the onset of AIDS and around 80% of people with AIDS will get pneumocystis pneumonia at some time. Symptoms and diagnosis The symptoms of pneumocystis pneumonia are tiredness, fever, breathlessness and a dry cough that does not produce sputum. Symptoms may begin quite suddenly or may develop over a few weeks. In hospital, an X-ray may show a typical pattern of widespread fluffiness in the lungs, and oxygen levels in the blood will be low because the lungs are not functioning properly. The fungus can be seen in the sputum using special tests, but it can be difficult to get a sputum sample from a person with pneumocystis pneumonia and the tests for Pneumocystis jerovici may not be available in all hospitals. Since
