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| {{AIDS}}
| | #REDIRECT[[HIV AIDS overview]] |
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| '''For AIDS Patient Information click [[AIDS Patient Information|here]]'''
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| {{CMG}}
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| ==[[AIDS overview|Overview]]==
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| '''Acquired immune deficiency syndrome ''' or '''acquired immunodeficiency syndrome''' ('''AIDS''' or '''Aids''') is a [[syndrome|collection of symptoms and infections]] resulting from the specific damage to the [[immune system]] caused by the [[HIV|human immunodeficiency virus]] (HIV) in humans,<ref>{{cite web
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| |url=http://www.niaid.nih.gov/Publications/hivaids/hivaids.htm
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| |title=The Relationship Between the Human Immunodeficiency Virus and the Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome |publisher= NIAID
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| |accessdate=2008-03-10}}</ref> and similar viruses in other species ([[Simian immunodeficiency virus|SIV]], [[Feline immunodeficiency virus|FIV]], etc.). The late stage of the condition leaves individuals susceptible to [[opportunistic infection]]s and [[tumor]]s. Although treatments for AIDS and HIV exist to decelerate the [[virus]]'s progression, there is currently no known cure. HIV is [[Transmission (medicine)|transmitted]] through direct contact of a [[mucous membrane]] or the bloodstream with a [[bodily fluid]] containing HIV, such as [[blood]], [[semen]], [[vaginal fluid]], [[preseminal fluid]], and [[breast milk]].<!-- And NOT through body fluids like saliva and tears, see references--><ref name=CDCtransmission>{{
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| cite web
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| | author=[[Divisions of HIV/AIDS Prevention]]
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| | publisher=[[Centers for Disease Control & Prevention]] | year= 2003
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| | url=http://www.cdc.gov/HIV/pubs/facts/transmission.htm
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| | title=HIV and Its Transmission
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| | accessdate = 2006-05-23
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| }}</ref><ref name=sfaf>{{
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| cite web
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| | author=[[San Francisco AIDS Foundation]]
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| | publisher=
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| | year= [[2006-04-14]]
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| | url=http://www.sfaf.org/aids101/transmission.html
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| | title=How HIV is spread | accessdate = 2006-05-23
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| }}</ref> This transmission can come in the form of [[anal sex|anal]], [[vaginal sex|vaginal]] or [[oral sex|oral]] [[Sexual intercourse|sex]], [[blood transfusion]], contaminated [[hypodermic needle]]s, exchange between mother and baby during [[pregnancy]], [[childbirth]], or [[breastfeeding]], or other exposure to one of the above bodily fluids.
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| Most researchers believe that HIV originated in sub-Saharan Africa during the twentieth century.<ref name=Gao>
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| {{ cite journal
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| | author=Gao F, Bailes E, Robertson DL, et al
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| | title=Origin of HIV-1 in the Chimpanzee Pan troglodytes troglodytes
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| | journal=Nature
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| | year=1999
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| | pages=436–441
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| | volume=397
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| | issue=6718
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| | pmid=9989410 |doi=10.1038/17130
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| }}</ref> It is now a [[pandemic]]. In 2007, an estimated 33.2 million people lived with the disease worldwide, and it claimed the lives of an estimated 2.1 million people, including 330,000 children.<ref name=UNAIDS2007/> Over three-fourths of these deaths occurred in sub-Saharan Africa,<ref name=UNAIDS2007/> retarding economic growth and destroying human capital.<ref name=Bell-et-al-2003/> [[antiretroviral drug|Antiretroviral]] treatment reduces both the [[Mortality rate|mortality]] and the morbidity of HIV infection, but routine access to antiretroviral [[medication]] is not available in all countries.<ref name=Palella>{{
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| cite journal
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| | author=Palella FJ Jr, Delaney KM, Moorman AC, et al
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| | title=Declining morbidity and mortality among patients with advanced human immunodeficiency virus infection. HIV Outpatient Study Investigators
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| | journal=N. Engl. J. Med | year=1998 | pages=853–860 | volume=338 | issue=13
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| | pmid=9516219
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| }}</ref>
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| HIV/AIDS [[social stigma|stigma]] is more severe than that associated with some other life-threatening conditions and extends beyond the disease itself to providers and even volunteers involved with the care of people living with HIV.<ref name=Snyder>{{
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| cite journal |
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| | author=Snyder M, Omoto AM, Crain AL |
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| | title=Punished for their good deeds: stigmatization for AIDS volunteers |
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| | journal=American Behavioral Scientist | year=1999 | pages=1175–1192 | volume=42 | issue=7 | doi=10.1177/0002764299042007009
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| }}</ref>
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