At this age, the cottontails still cannot live without motherâs milk. 3 day old cottontail (right) next to 14 day old cottontail (left) Seven to Nine Days Old: Similar to a 4-5 day old cottontail, there should not be too much difference at this stage. Eyes should be beginning to open and may look like little slits.
In doing so, the virus destroys the ability of the infected cells to do their job in the immune system. The body then loses the ability to fight many infections. When a person with HIV has an extremely low number of CD4 cells or certain rare infections, doctors call this stage of disease AIDS.
The CD4 cells (also called T-helper cells) are an important part of the immune system because they fight germs and infections. HIV attacks CD4 cells and reduces the number of them in your body. Without treatment, HIV slowly weakens the immune system, making it harder for your body to fight off illness or infection.