AIDS overview
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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]
Overview
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS or Aids) is a collection of symptoms and infections resulting from the specific damage to the immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in humans,[1] and similar viruses in other species (SIV, FIV, etc.). The late stage of the condition leaves individuals susceptible to opportunistic infections and tumors. Although treatments for AIDS and HIV exist to decelerate the virus's progression, there is currently no known cure. HIV is 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.[2][3] This transmission can come in the form of anal, vaginal or oral sex, blood transfusion, contaminated hypodermic needles, exchange between mother and baby during pregnancy, childbirth, or breastfeeding, or other exposure to one of the above bodily fluids.
Most researchers believe that HIV originated in sub-Saharan Africa during the twentieth century.[4] 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.[5] Over three-fourths of these deaths occurred in sub-Saharan Africa,[5] retarding economic growth and destroying human capital.[6] Antiretroviral treatment reduces both the mortality and the morbidity of HIV infection, but routine access to antiretroviral medication is not available in all countries.[7]
HIV/AIDS 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.[8]
- ↑ "The Relationship Between the Human Immunodeficiency Virus and the Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome". NIAID. Retrieved 2008-03-10.
- ↑ Divisions of HIV/AIDS Prevention (2003). "HIV and Its Transmission". Centers for Disease Control & Prevention. Retrieved 2006-05-23.
- ↑ San Francisco AIDS Foundation (2006-04-14). "How HIV is spread". Retrieved 2006-05-23. Check date values in:
|year=(help) - ↑ Gao F, Bailes E, Robertson DL; et al. (1999). "Origin of HIV-1 in the Chimpanzee Pan troglodytes troglodytes". Nature. 397 (6718): 436&ndash, 441. doi:10.1038/17130. PMID 9989410.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedUNAIDS2007 - ↑ Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedBell-et-al-2003 - ↑ Palella FJ Jr, Delaney KM, Moorman AC; et al. (1998). "Declining morbidity and mortality among patients with advanced human immunodeficiency virus infection. HIV Outpatient Study Investigators". N. Engl. J. Med. 338 (13): 853&ndash, 860. PMID 9516219.
- ↑ Snyder M, Omoto AM, Crain AL (1999). "Punished for their good deeds: stigmatization for AIDS volunteers". American Behavioral Scientist. 42 (7): 1175&ndash, 1192. doi:10.1177/0002764299042007009.