Statistics

HIV and AIDS are more than just acronyms; they can be parts of an illusive, debilitating disease if left untreated. HIV and AIDS can make mundane actions and experience luxuries and can take the lives of our friends and families.

While treatment options have come far since the disease was first seen in the early 1980s, almost one million people in the United States live with threat that HIV and AIDS pose. After almost 27 years, the virus that causes AIDS is still with us; and is highly prevalent in the District of Columbia.

Before examining the statistics, let us first provide definitions from the Department of Health and Human Service's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

HIV
The human immunodeficiency virus or HIV is the virus that causes AIDS. HIV is different from most other viruses because it attacks the immune system. The immune system gives our bodies the ability to fight infections. HIV finds and destroys a type of white blood cell (T cells or CD4 cells) that the immune system must have to fight disease.

AIDS
AIDS stands for acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. AIDS is the final stage of HIV infection. It can take years for a person infected with HIV, even without treatment, to reach this stage. Having AIDS means that the virus has weakened the immune system to the point at which the body has a difficult time fighting infections. When someone has one or more of these infections and a low number of T cells, he or she has AIDS.

Now that we have the definitions, let's look at the history in the United States and How the Disease is transmitted or not transmitted.

Within the United States
HIV was first identified in the United States in 1981 after a number of gay men started getting sick with a rare type of cancer. It took several years for scientists to develop a test for the virus, to understand how HIV was transmitted between humans, and to determine what people could do to protect themselves. During the early 1980s, as many as 150,000 people became infected with HIV each year. By the early 1990s, this rate had dropped to about 40,000 each year, where it remains today.

AIDS cases began to fall dramatically in 1996, when new drugs became available. Today, more people than ever before are living with HIV/AIDS. CDC estimates that about 1 million people in the United States are living with HIV or AIDS. About one quarter of these people do not know that they are infected: not knowing puts them and others at risk.

How HIV is Transmitted
HIV is primarily found in the blood, semen, or vaginal fluid of an infected person. HIV is transmitted in 3 main ways:

1. Having sex (anal, vaginal, or oral) with someone infected with HIV
2. Sharing needles and syringes with someone infected with HIV
3. Being exposed (fetus or infant) to HIV before or during birth or through breast feeding

How HIV Is and Is Not Transmitted
HIV is a fragile virus. It cannot live for very long outside the body. As a result, the virus is not transmitted through day-to-day activities such as shaking hands, hugging, or a casual kiss. You cannot become infected from a toilet seat, drinking fountain, doorknob, dishes, drinking glasses, food, or pets. You also cannot get HIV from mosquitoes.

The CDC a lot of information about HIV / AIDS.

Respect yourself;
protect yourself.