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What is AIDS?

AIDS or acquired immune deficiency syndrome is many times confused with HIV and the fact is that they are different and the same all at once. AIDS is a result from damage to the immune system caused by the advance of the HIV virus. HIV is a retrovirus that focuses on infecting vital components of the human immune system. Some people can have HIV for several years before developing AIDS. There are also cases of people with HIV that never developed into AIDS. Although there is no cure for AIDS or HIV, there are several treatments that help slow the HIV virus progression and allow people to live long and relatively healthy lives.

AIDS is the most deadly part of the HIV problem and it is the main reason for so many HIV related deaths in the world.

Some recent AIDS statistics include:

* In 2005, there were 28 million deaths worldwide from AIDS.
* Last year 4 million new cases of HIV reported worldwide.


How HIV is transmitted?

HIV is transmitted by having direct contact with blood, semen, vaginal fluid, preseminal fluid and even breast milk. The transmission can occur in several ways through sexual contact with a carrier, receiving contaminated blood during a blood tranfusion, sharing contaminated needles. Other rare ways to transmit AIDS is from a mother to a baby during pregnancy, breastfeeding and other exposure to the child and contaminated mother.

When you first contract HIV there is the time when you will not even realize it. The virus begins to spread throughout the body and will attack the immune system at its very core which makes it weak. Over time the body starts to allow viruses and infections into the body which will make the person ill and weaker. As it all progresses the AIDS virus is allowed to form which further destroys the immune system.

Symptoms and Complications cause by AIDS

AIDS symptoms are basically every condition that a person with a normal immune system would be able to fight off with no problem. These conditions are cause by everyday bacteria, viruses, parasites and fungi. Some of the most common conditions that develop on AIDS patients rage from pulmonary, gastro-intestinal, neurological and other opportunistic infections.

People with HIV should have periodic checkout visits with their doctors to monitor the progress or lack of progress of the HIV virus. Without treatment, the average time of progression from HIV to AIDS is about nine to ten years and the average life expectancy of a person that develops AIDS is about nine to ten months but with treatment a person can slow the progression of HIV for more than 10 years depending on their lifestyle and at least 5 years after AIDS is diagnosed.

To find out more about HIV and AIDs, please click on any of the sections below.