What is the difference between HIV and AIDS?
HIV stands for human immunodeficiency virus. It is the organism that leads to the condition we call AIDS. It does this by attacking and damaging the body's immune and nervous systems. The nervous system controls our movements (including the beating of our hearts and the pumping of our lungs) and the immune system fights off infections and diseases. Once someone become infected with HIV, the virus slowly destroys the immune system so the body cannot fight off even mild problems and the person is likely to get many different diseases. When the virus progresses to the point where the infected person is very sick, we call this AIDS.
There is no cure for HIV yet, but scientists hope to find one or to develop a vaccine that will protect people from HIV in the same way that measles vaccine prevents a person from getting measles. In the meantime, our only defense in prevention.
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