HIV/AIDS Overview

HIV/AIDS Overview

HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) infection has now spread to every country in the world. Approximately 40 million people are currently living with HIV infection, and an estimated 25 million have died from this disease. The scourge of HIV has been particularly devastating in sub-Saharan Africa, but infection rates in other countries remain high. In the United States, approximately 1 million people are currently infected. Here are a few key points about the disease:

• Globally, 85% of HIV transmission is heterosexual.



• In the United States, approximately one-third of new diagnoses appear to be related to heterosexual transmission. Male-to-male sexual contact still accounts for approximately half of new diagnoses in the U.S. Intravenous drug use contributes to the remaining cases. Because the diagnosis may occur years after infection, it is likely that a higher proportion of recent infections are due to heterosexual transmission.



• Infections in women are increasing. Worldwide, 42% of people with HIV are women. In the United States, approximately 25% of new diagnoses are in women, and the proportion is rising.



• There is good news on one front. New HIV infections in U.S. children have fallen dramatically. This is largely a result of testing and treating infected mothers, as well as establishing uniform testing guidelines for blood products.

In order to understand HIV and AIDS, it is important to understand the meanings behind these terms:

• HIV stands for the human immunodeficiency virus. It is one of a group of viruses known as retroviruses. After getting into the body, the virus kills or damages cells of the body's immune system. The body tries to keep up by making new cells or trying to contain the virus, but eventually the HIV wins out and progressively destroys the body's ability to fight infections and certain cancers.



• AIDS stands for the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. It is caused by HIV and occurs when the virus has destroyed so much of the body's defenses that immune-cell counts fall to critical levels or certain life-threatening infections or cancers develop.