When our body is infected with a virus the immune system identifies and kills the intruders. AIDS is caused by a virus called HIV (Humane Immuno deficiency Virus). HIV affects the immune system by damaging the white blood cells in our body. As a result a simple flu would make a person infected with HIV dangerously ill.

AIDS is diagnosed when the immune system is affected to such a degree that the body can no longer defeat viruses that wouldn't stand a chance when entering a healthy body.

Simply put: one is infected with HIV and AIDS is diagnosed when this affection has ‘eaten away' the immune system below a certain critical level.

A HIV-infected person is called seropositive. Being seropositive does not necessarily mean that you have AIDS. The HIV virus can go undetected for quite some time. It can take as much as ten years before one gets serious complaints. Once you start suffering from infections and conditions caused by bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites that are normally controlled by the elements of the immune system you'll be diagnosed as suffering from AIDS. In other words: AIDS is the final stage, the most serious symptom of HIV-infection. According to recent (2006) studies, the life expectancy of a person having AIDS in the United States is 24 years on average. The total cost of healthcare over these 24 years is more than $ 600,000.

Seropositive people can transfer the HIV-virus, whether they have any symptoms or not.

According to the 2007 AIDS epidemic update from the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS the United States of America has one of the largest HIV epidemics in the world, with an estimated 1.2 million [720 000-2.0 million] people living with HIV in 2005. Based on data from the 33 states and four dependent territories with long-term, confidential name-based HIV reporting, men still account for most of the HIV or AIDS diagnoses among adults and adolescents in the United States: 74% in 2005, according to the most recent data.

Unprotected sex between men remains the most common mode of HIV transmission. In 2005, more than half of the new diagnoses of HIV infection (53%) were among men who have sex with men.

"A growing group of bio-medical scientists claim the cause of AIDS is still unknown. These heretics do not believe in the lethal AIDS virus called HIV. They claim that the virus is indeed harmless. Most of them think AIDS is also not sexually transmitted; it probably has toxic causes. People die because they are poisoned to death by toxic antiviral drugs. Part of the AIDS dissidents even question the existence of a virus entity. These HIV skeptics say that the AIDS virus has never really been isolated, and the AIDS tests are worthless..."

(Source: Virusmyth)

According to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectuous Deseases however, there is sufficient evidence that HIV causes Aids. Whether or not HIV is the sole cause of AIDS seems irrelevant, as the vast majority of the AIDS-cases can be linked to HIV. So even if there may be other causes, HIV is the main cause of AIDS according to leading research bodies.

It is possible that the number of HIV antibodies is below the threshold, which could lead to the conclusion that a person is HIV-negative and at the same time be diagnosed as having AIDS. Therefore a series of HIV-tests is suggested:

• a test soon after exposure (for a baseline);
• a test 6 weeks after exposure;
• and finally a test 3 months after exposure.

If these tests all come out negative (and there has been no further exposure) you can consider yourself as HIV-negative.

The virus can be found in

• Blood
• Sperm
• Vaginal fluids
• Precum
• Mother milk

Especially blood and sperm contain a high concentration of the virus. The concentration in precum and vaginal fluids is much lower, but still enough to transfer the virus. If seropositive the virus will be present in other body fluids as well, but not in such concentrations that the virus can be transferred by them. In other words: kissing will not expose one to HIV, unless there is blood in the saliva and there is a possibility that this can directly enter the blood stream of the other person.

The chance of contagion occurs in the following cases:

• Unsafe sex
• Injecting drugs with used needles
• Transfer of the virus by a seropositive mother (either before birth or through mother milk)
• The use of unsafe blood products or blood transfusions with infected blood

Normal contact, including kissing, with an HIV-infected person will not result in an infection!

Infections caused by germs that usually do not cause a disease in a healthy immune system are common in people with AIDS. HIV affects nearly every organ system. People with AIDS also have an increased risk of developing various cancers such as Kaposi's sarcoma, cervical cancer and cancers of the immune system known as lymphomas. Additionally, people with AIDS often have systemic symptoms of infection like fevers, sweats (particularly at night), swollen glands, chills, weakness, and weight loss. The specific opportunistic infections that AIDS patients develop depend in part on the prevalence of these infections in the geographic area in which the patient lives.

AIDS and HIV can not be cured. There are drugs to slow down HIV and thus prevent or delay the AIDS syndrome. These drugs to disrupt the action of HIV are known as antiretrovirals or ARVs. These come in a variety of formulations designed to act on different stages of the life-cycle of HIV. The HIV inhibitors are classified according to the way they attack the virus. Note that they can only slow down the virus and not (like antibiotics) kill it.

The AIDS virus mutates rapidly, which makes it extremely skilful at developing resistance to drugs. To minimize this risk, people with HIV are generally treated with a combination of ARVs that attack the virus on several fronts at once.

In many cases this treatment succeeds in holding back the multiplication of the virus and slowing down the illness. However, there are side effects and there is a risk of the virus becoming resistant to the treatment.

Therefore it is extremely important that the patient takes his/her medicine exactly according to the prescription.

Yoga and other alternative therapies have been claimed to show positive results in the treatment of AIDS.

Risks exist, even if you are careful. A condom may be forgotten or tear, for example. If you have been exposed to the risk of infection you can reduce the chance by starting as soon as possible with a combination of drugs. This is called Post Exposure Prophylaxis. Although PEP can reduce the risk of an infection, there are disadvantages. The pills have to be taken twice a day for a period of four weeks and there are quite some side effects. So it's not just a morning after pill and will be prescribed only after careful consideration.

• Don't share needles and syringes used to inject drugs, steroids, vitamins, or for tattooing or body piercing. Also, don't share equipment ("works") used to prepare drugs to be injected. Many people have been infected with HIV, hepatitis, and other germs this way. Germs from an infected person can stay in a needle and then be injected directly into the next person who uses the needle.
• The surest way to avoid transmission of sexually transmitted diseases is to abstain from sexual intercourse, or to be in a longterm mutually monogamous relationship with a partner who has been tested and you know is uninfected.
• For persons whose sexual behaviors place them at risk for STDs, correct and consistent use of the male latex condom can reduce the risk of STD transmission. However, no protective method is 100 percent effective, and condom use cannot guarantee absolute protection against any STD. The more sex partners you have, the greater your chances are of getting HIV or other diseases passed through sex.
• Condoms used with a lubricant are less likely to break. However, condoms with the spermicide nonoxynol-9 are not recommended for STD/HIV prevention. Condoms must be used correctly and consistently to be effective and protective. Incorrect use can lead to condom slippage or breakage, thus diminishing the protective effect. Inconsistent use, e.g., failure to use condoms with every act of intercourse, can result in STD transmission because transmission can occur with a single act of intercourse.
• Don't share razors or toothbrushes because of they may have the blood of another person on them.
• If you are pregnant or think you might be soon, talk to a doctor or your local health department about being tested for HIV. If you share HIV, drug treatments are available to help you and they can reduce the chance of passing HIV to your baby.