AIDS Today
... This disease is AIDS. AIDS stands for Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome. Since its discovery in 1981, AIDS has infected thousands of Americans and continues to be a major worldwide epidemic (www. ... HIV/AIDS spread to epidemic proportions in the 1980s, particularly in Africa, where the disease may have originated. ... By 2002 AIDS had claimed over 25 million lives worldwide. Approximately 40 million people throughout the world are infected with HIV (AIDS, Encyclopedia Britannica). Many people are unclear about what exactly the difference is between AIDS and HIV. ... HIV is the beginning of AIDS. AIDS is simply the final, fatal stage of HIV. ... When this happens, AIDS begins to take over. Many doctors can recognize AIDS by even the general appearance of a person. ... Of those 900,000, approximately 360,000 are to the stage of AIDS. ... AIDS is now the fifth leading cause of death in the United States for the age group of 25 to 44, and is the leading cause of death for black men in this age group. However, from the year 1995 to the year 2001, AIDS-related deaths have gone down 70 percent. ... AIDS can be transmitted in many different ways. The leading cause of AIDS being transmitted is by homosexuality in men and also sex between infected heterosexuals. Sharing needles with someone is another way that AIDS can be transmitted. ... This is one of the most frustrating things about AIDS. The child did not have the chance to prevent themselves from acquiring AIDS, but since the mother gave birth to the child, the child is now infected and will eventually die from this. AIDS can not be cured. ... These drugs will help the person battle many small effects from AIDS.