Incapacity Benefit and immune deficiency states.

The Incapacity Benefit Handbook for Approved Doctors states that this category does not pertain exclusively to AIDS or HIV related conditions. The guidance advises doctors that exemption may be considered if one or more of the following are present-

Severe constitutional disease over a period of at least one to two months with feature such as:

• Loss of 5% or more of normal body weight;
• Debilitating overactivity of the bowels;
• Frequent fever and/or night sweats;
• Idiopathic thrombocytopenia;
• Falling CD4 count.

Opportunistic infections which are recurrent or resistant to treament such as;

• Herpes zoster;
• Aspergillosis;
• Microsporidiosis;
• Salmonella;
• Recurrent pneumocystis carinii
• Aseptic meningitis

Tumour formation which is often unresponsive to treatment such as;

• Hodgkin's lymphoma;
• Invasive anal carcinoma
• Testicular carcinoma;
• Cerebral tumours;
• Kaposi's sarcoma.

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