The Facts
AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) is defined by CDC as positive blood test for presence of HIV which infects specific blood cells. T-cell count goes below 200. However, if the T-cell count is above 200, the victim has one or more of the diseases associated with AIDS and they are as follows: Cervical Cancer, Cervical Intraepithelial Neoplasia, Recurrent bacteria pneumonia, and Plumonary Tuberculosis.
Infection Rates
About 64 million people worldwide are infected with HIV and 22 million people out of the 64 million people have died of AIDS. 66% of the people infected with HIV live in Africa. Also, HIV infection is growing at the fastest rate in Southeast Asia and in India. In the Sub-Saharan Africa alone, there are more than 28.5 million cases of HIV infection. African people have been heat very hard by this ugly disease that if nothing is done to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS, more people will die.
Conditions Associated With AIDS
If you are infected with any of theses: Pneumoncystis Carinii Pneumonia (PCP), Mycobacterium Avium Tuberculosis (MAI), Mycobacterium Tuberculosis (TB), Bacteria Pneumonia and Toxoplasmosis, you might be looking at AIDS. Also, clinical conditions such as Wasting Syndrome and HIV encephalopathy (AIDS dementia) are also other signs of AIDS.
Myths Concerning HIV/Aids Transmission
Most people believe that you could get HIV/AIDS through these means: Casual contact, Inanimate objects, Animals; Blood donations, Insect bites, Saliva, Sweat, vaccines, water and Tears. There is no evidence to show that you can contact HIV/AIDS through these means. However, HIV/AIDS can be transmitted through sexual intercourse, through blood, and from mother to infant. Hospitals should make sure that donors are not infected with HIV, before accepting blood from them. People should not share needle or syringe, for if the other person is affected with HIV; the next user could get the HIV virus. This is the reason why drug users are prone to HIV/AIDS.
Testing and Treatment
There is no cure for AIDS, but highly antiretroviral therapy (HAART) is used to stop HIV reproduction. Also, HIV/AIDS could be tested and treated through these means: Viral Load, Western Blot, ELISHA, AZT, Protease Inhibitors, Ddi, Ddc and Nonoxynol 9.
