Monday, June 16, 2008

What Is AIDS

Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS or Aids) is a set of symptoms and infections resulting from the damage to the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).This condition progressively reduces the effectiveness of the immune system and leaves individuals susceptible to opportunistic infections and tumors. 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.

As an independent AIDS organisation founded in 1986, AVERT has taken a keen interest in the ongoing debate about what causes AIDS. As well as investigating the consensus position, we have followed and carefully considered the arguments of the dissident minority who claim that HIV is harmless or even that it might not exist. This topic is vitally relevant to how our organisation works to prevent people developing AIDS and to help those who are suffering.

In the 25 years since the first reports of the disease, AIDS has become a global epidemic. Worldwide, an estimated 38.6 million people are living with HIV, nearly half of them women and girls between the ages of 15 and 24. And though the spread of the virus has slowed in some countries, it has escalated or remained steady in others. In 2005, more than 4 million people were newly infected with HIV; 25 million have died of AIDS since the epidemic began.

A virus is a germ that requires a host cell to survive and reproduce.Viruses are highly adaptable, with the potential of remaining alive in their host cells for long periods of time. HIV is a highly adaptable virus capable of mutating quickly, and may require vigilent attention on the part of the host to keep it it check.

AIDS clinical trials evaluate experimental drugs and other therapies for adults and children at all stages of HIV infection -- from patients who are HIV positive with no symptoms to those with various symptoms of AIDS. As the main dissemination point for federally approved HIV treatment and prevention guidelines, AIDS info provides information about the current treatment regimens for HIV infection and AIDS-related illnesses, including the prevention of HIV transmission from occupational exposure and mother-to-child transmission during pregnancy.

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