What Is HIV?

HIV is the Human Immunodeficiency Virus that causes AIDS.  A member of a group of viruses called Retroviruses, HIV infects human cells and uses the energy and nutrients provided by those cells to grow and reproduce.

What Is Aids?

Aids (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome) is a disease in which the body's immune system breaks down and is unable to fight off certain infections, known as *Opportunistic Infections" and other illnesses that take advantage of a weakened immune system.

When a person is infected with HIV, the virus enters the body and lives and multiplies primarily in the white blood cells.  These are the immune cells that normally protect us from disease.  The hallmark of HIV infection is the progressive loss of a specific type of immune cell called T-helper or CD4 cells.  As the virus grows, it damages or kills these other cells, weakening the immune system and leaving the individual vulnerable to various opportunistic infections and other illnesses, ranging from Pneumonia to Cancer.  The CDC *Centers For Disease Control And Prevention, defines someone as having a clinical diagnosis of AIDS if they have tested positive for HIV and meet one or both of these conditions.

*They have experienced one or more AIDS-related infections or illnesses;

*The number of CD4 cells has reached or fallen below 200 per cubic millimeter of blood (a measurement known as T-cell count).In healthy individuals, the CD4 count normally ranges from 450 to 1,200.

How Quickly Do People Infected With HIV Develop AIDS?

In some people, the T-cell decline and opportunistic infections that signal AIDS develop soon after initial infection with HIV.  Most people remain asymptomatic for 10 to 12 years and a few for much longer.  As with most diseases, early medical care can help prolong a person's life.

How Many People Are Affected By HIV/AIDS?

The Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) estimates that there are now over 34 million people living with HIV or AIDS worldwide.  Most of them do not know they carry HIV and may be spreading the virus to others.  In the U.S., nearly one million people have HIV infections or AIDS--roughly one out of every 250 people.  At least 40,000 Americans become newly infected with HIV each year and it is estimated that half of all people with HIV in the U.S. have not been tested and do not know they are carrying the virus.

Since the beginning of the epidemic, AIDS has killed nearly 19 million people worldwide, including more than 430,000 Americans.  AIDS has replaced Malaria and Tuberculosis as the world's deadliest infectious diseases among adults and is the fourth leading cause of death worldwide.  Over 13 million children have been orphaned by this epidemic.