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Understanding HIV/AIDS: Causes and Impact

HIV/AIDS is a disease of the human immune system caused by the HIV virus. It interferes with the immune system, making people much more likely to get infections. HIV is transmitted through sexual contact, contaminated blood or needles, and from mother to child. While there is no cure for HIV/AIDS, antiretroviral treatment can slow the disease progression and increase life expectancy, though the medications are expensive and have side effects. HIV/AIDS is a major global health problem and pandemic, with approximately 34 million people living with HIV globally as of 2010.

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Jayden Pang Jian Yong
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7 views1 page

Understanding HIV/AIDS: Causes and Impact

HIV/AIDS is a disease of the human immune system caused by the HIV virus. It interferes with the immune system, making people much more likely to get infections. HIV is transmitted through sexual contact, contaminated blood or needles, and from mother to child. While there is no cure for HIV/AIDS, antiretroviral treatment can slow the disease progression and increase life expectancy, though the medications are expensive and have side effects. HIV/AIDS is a major global health problem and pandemic, with approximately 34 million people living with HIV globally as of 2010.

Uploaded by

Jayden Pang Jian Yong
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Introduction

HIV / AIDS
The red ribbon is a symbol for solidarity with HIV-positive people and those living with AIDS.

Human Immunodeficiency Virus / Acquired Immuno Deficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The illness interferes with the immune system, making people with AIDS much more likely to get infections, including opportunistic infections and tumors that do not usually affect people with working immune systems. This susceptibility increases as the disease worsens.

HIV is transmitted primarily via sexual intercourse (including oral sex and anal sex), contaminated blood transfusions and hypodermic needles, and from mother to child during pregnancy, delivery, or breastfeeding. Some bodily fluids, like saliva or tears, do not transmit HIV. Prevention of HIV infection, primarily through safe sex and needle-exchange programs, is a key strategy to control the disease. There is no known cure for or vaccine however antiretroviral treatment can slow the course of the disease and may lead to a near-normal life expectancy. While antiretroviral treatment reduces the risk of death and complications from the disease these medications are expensive and may be associated with side effects of their own. HIV/AIDS is a major health problem in many parts of the world, and is considered a pandemica disease outbreak which is present over a large area and is actively spreading. As of 2010, approximately 34 million people have HIV globally. Of these, approximately 16.8 million are women and 3.4 million are less than 15 years old. HIV/AIDS resulted in about 1.8 million deaths in 2010, down from 3.1 million in 2001. Since AIDS was first recognized in 1981, it has led to nearly 30 million deaths (as of 2009). Genetic research indicates that HIV originated in West-central Africa during the early twentieth century. AIDS was first recognized by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in 1981 and its cause, HIV, identified in the early 1980s.

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