What Is Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) and HIV Infection? FACT: Over 50 percent of new HIV infections occur among people under age 25. Between 40,000 and 50,000 Americans become infected with HIV every year. Half of them are between...
Human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV, can be sexually transmitted or contracted through blood-to-blood contamination. The virus targets and destroys CD4 helper lymphocytes, or T-cells that protect the body from infection. There is no cure, but...
The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), which eventually causes acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), kills blood cells needed to fight off infection. Individuals with HIV are at risk of becoming sick from opportunistic infections such as...
According to the "5-Minute Clinical Consult" textbook, in 2006 there were 56,300 new cases of HIV infection in the United States. Also in 2006, there were 14,627 deaths of people with AIDS. Worldwide in 2007, 32.2 million people are living with...
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes that in the United States, about 1.1 million people had HIV or AIDS by the end of 2006. HIV, or human immunodeficiency virus, passes to people through sexual contact, needle sharing or...
The human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV, causes AIDS by slowly attacking the immune system and leaving the body susceptible to potentially fatal infections and diseases. HIV and AIDS symptoms vary, depending on the phase of infection, and many...
Scientists believe that HIV, human immunodeficiency virus, originally mutated in Africa in the late 1800s before it was identified in the United States in 1981. The term AIDS, or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, was created shortly thereafter...
Human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV, weakens patients' immune systems. MedlinePlus says that even though HIV patients may not have symptoms for up to 10 years after initial infection, they can pass the virus to other people. When HIV progresses...
AIDS begins with HIV, the human immunodeficiency virus. As the virus progresses and enters its last stage, it becomes AIDS, or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. While HIV makes a person more susceptible to infections, AIDS is life-threatening,...
A chronic, life-threatening condition known as AIDS develops due to the human immunodefiency virus, or HIV. HIV is a virus which damages the immune system, inhibiting the body from fighting off viruses, bacteria and fungi that cause disease. AIDS,...
The human immunodeficiency virus, HIV, targets cells of the immune system in an effort to damage the cells or destroy them completely. The damage of the body's immune cells leads to a condition called immune deficiency, in which the immune system...
Human immunodefiency virus infection has no cure. However, the anti-HIV (antiretroviral) drugs that are prescribed to treat this infection can prolong the life of an infected individual by decades. The U.S. Department of Health recommends anti-HIV...
According to the Mayo Clinic, AIDS (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome), is a life-threatening condition caused by HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus). AIDS is a result of the damage done to your immune system over a period of time by HIV, which...
Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a virus that attacks the T cells or CD4 cells in the blood. The body cannot get rid of HIV like it can other viruses such as those that cause the flu. HIV can develop into acquired immunodeficiency syndrome...
Human Immunodeficiency Virus, or HIV, attacks the immune cells of the infected individual and interferes with the patient's ability to fight infections and certain cancers. Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome, or AIDS, is the final stage of an HIV...
HIV is a life-threatening disease that is caused by the human immunodeficiency virus, reports the MayoClinic.com. This virus is present in the blood, breast milk and genital secretions of people infected with HIV, regardless of whether they have...
According to the Mayo Clinic, HIV is a chronic, bloodborne condition caused by the human immunodeficiency virus. HIV reduces the body's ability to fight off viruses and bacteria. It also makes the patient more susceptible to certain cancer types...
HIV/AIDS affects people in both developed and developing nations. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that about 1 million people in the United States are living with HIV, and that approximately 18,000 Americans die from AIDS...
Since the HIV virus damages the immune system of the people who get infected with it, these patients need to be aware of any potential signs of illness. In patients with HIV and AIDS, a cough can be a sign of a variety of pulmonary infections or...
Many frequently asked questions and misconceptions about HIV and AIDS exist. The Center for Disease Control reports 35,962 cases of AIDS and 14,110 deaths among people living with HIV in the United States in 2007. You should understand the facts...
HIV, or human immunodeficiency virus, is the virus responsible for the disease AIDS. Scientists have studied HIV extensively in an attempt to find weaknesses in the virus or its mode of action that they can take advantage of to help treat the...
As of 2009, the main treatment for HIV and AIDS is with anti-retroviral drugs. This treatment aims to lower the HIV viral load (the amount of disease) as much as possible, for as long as it is possible. Other functions of anti-retroviral therapy...
The physical effects of HIV and AIDS intensify as the infection progresses. Many patients experience vague flu-like symptoms when they are first infected, but these symptoms resolve in a few days or weeks. The person may not experience additional...
Dr. Joe Klein, the chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases of Alfred duPont Hospital in Wilmington, Delaware, explains that human immunodeficiency syndrome or HIV, attacks T cells in the immune system and spreads. When and if enough cells...
HIV, also known as the human immunodeficiency virus, is a virus that attacks the immune system. Eventually, HIV infections progress to a condition known as acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, or AIDS. As the viral infection affects the body, a...
The terms "HIV" and "AIDS" are sometimes used interchangeably. However, these two acronyms stand for two related, but different, conditions. HIV stands for human immunodeficiency virus. HIV causes AIDS, which stands for acquired immunodeficiency...
Getting diagnosed with HIV is not the same as having AIDS. According to "The Body," if HIV is left untreated, it can progress to AIDS. If you are worried about having been exposed to HIV, getting screened is important. Getting screened and...
Human Immunodeficiency Virus 1, or HIV, causes Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome, or AIDS. HIV/AIDS has a global impact, and as of 2010 remains a pandemic disease. AIDS was identified in the early 1980s and the viral cause--HIV--was isolated in...
HIV and AIDS refers to a devastating disorder of the immune system, the body's defense system against invading bacteria, viruses and other harmful organisms. HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) transforms into the late stage of HIV called AIDS...
HIV or human immunodeficiency virus can lead to AIDS. It affects the human immune system which interferes with the body's ability to fight off disease. Learn about HIV in this video on health and diseases.