What's the Workplace Going to Be Like When a Co-Worker Has AIDS?

It’s going to be just like it has always been. The only difference will be that you will now know that a co-worker has HIV. The person will be essentially the same individual as before, with the same likes and dislikes, the same personality (for better or worse!) and the same skills and talents. And the person will still need and want to be at work, just like before.

There is no reason why a person with HIV infection should not work.

In the early stages of infection, there are very few changes happening in the person’s body. These changes are not visible to the naked eye and it takes medical tests to discover exactly what is going on. The person looks and feels fine. And — unless there is a clear medical reason for the person to make a change — there is NO need or excuse to remove a person from the workplace. (In fact, it is illegal to remove a person with AIDS — or suspected of having AIDS — from his or her job.)

After infection with HIV, the body begins to experience changes in its blood chemistry. These changes come very slowly in most people, although in other people, the changes are faster.

The primary change is the destruction of white blood cells which are responsible for detecting and then destroying germs that invade the body. The virus in the blood is destroying a huge number of blood cells while the body is trying to replace them. As a result, the individual may feel very tired and may have almost no energy. This severe fatigue can be one of the first significant signs of HIV infection. The person may need a flexible work schedule or work environment in order to rest periodically during the day.

When the white blood cell count drops into a low range, the person’s resistance to disease is low. The individual is more likely to catch any colds or flu viruses that are going around. The amount of danger that a person is in depends upon how much resistance the person has through the white blood count. Therefore, when there’s a nasty flu season, it would be smart if the person with HIV infection and low resistance stayed away from people who have it. While the flu might make most people really sick for a few days, a person with AIDS might be killed by the same flu virus. When there’s a flu epidemic or other "bug" going around, the HIV-positive person or person living with AIDS may need to avoid being around groups of people.