AIDS and HIV
AIDS is a life-threatening disruption of
the immune system by the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV).
This virus progressively weakens the body's ability to fight
off disease, opening it to severe infections with both common
and exotic organisms, as well as various forms of cancer. In
the United States, most cases of AIDS have been traced to the
virus called HIV-1...
[more]
HIV/AIDS is spread through bodily fluids,
most frequently blood, male seminal fluid, or female vaginal
secretions. For transmission to occur, the infected fluid must
enter the uninfected person's body through some kind of cut or
opening in the skin or mucous membranes in the
body.
The virus can be transmitted at any stage
of infection. You need not be symptomatic, or even know you are
infected, in order to pass the AIDS virus to someone else.
People are most infectious within the first six months to one
year following their own infection, and then six to ten years
later as their immune system becomes more
suppressed.
Signs/Symptoms
Most people who contract HIV remain symptom-free
for the first few years. A few suffer a brief period (3 to 14
days) of fever, joint pain, rash, and swollen lymph nodes---the
small bean-shaped organs in your neck, jaw, armpits, and
groin---within a month of being infected.
Later, as the immune system grows weaker, a
common group of warning signs may appear, including fevers,
night sweats, tiredness, weight loss, coughing, and diarrhea...
[more]
Women
and AIDS/HIV
(from: T
he Growing Danger of AIDS
PDR Family Guide to Women's Health Chapter
13)
Currently, the number of AIDS cases is
rising more rapidly among women than any other population
group. According to the federal Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC).. by October 1993..AIDS was the fourth leading
cause of death in women aged 15 to 44, and the second leading
cause of death for black and Hispanic women in this age group..
[more]
Featured WebSite:
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HIV InSite
This site contains up to date information on AID/HIV
including: prevention, treatment, social issues and
community/research resources.
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