Why should women in particular be concerned about HIV and AIDS? AIDS is the third leading cause of death among women ages 25-44, and the single leading cause of death among African American women in this age group. Also, women accounted for 22% of all new AIDS cases among adults and adolescents in 1997. And the number of women becoming infected is steadily increasing each year.

Globally, 45 percent of adults living with HIV/AIDS are women. By region, this percentage varies considerably, from 57% in Sub-Saharan Africa, to 28% in East Asia and the Pacific. In 2004, 17.6 million women were living with HIV/AIDS worldwide.

Yes. Women with HIV/AIDS have more chance of getting pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), and cervical cancer. Women with HIV/AIDS should be checked for these diseases every year. Doctors say that women with HIV/AIDS should have a Pap smear two times a year.

HIV (Human Immunodeficiency ["im-you-no-de-fish-en-see"] Virus -- is the virus that causes AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome). HIV attacks and kills the cells in our bodies that keep us from getting diseases. This makes people with HIV get illnesses that healthy people do not get. When a person with HIV gets very sick from pneumonia, some kinds of cancer, and other life-threatening diseases, they are said to have AIDS. AIDS is a fatal disease. Here is more information on HIV/AIDS.

Symptoms that could serve as warning signals of HIV infection may go ignored because many women do not perceive themselves at risk. Symptoms include recurrent yeast infections (vaginal candidiasis), pelvic inflammatory disease, abnormal changes or dysplasia (growth and presence of precancerous cells) in cervical tissue, genital ulcers, genital warts, and severe mucosal herpes infections may also accompany HIV infection in women.

Call the California HIV/AIDS Hotline at 800/367-AIDS (English/Spanish). TDD: 888/225-AIDS. For more information about the hotline, click here.

of 2003, approximately 15 million children have lost one or both parents due to HIV/AIDS. By 2010, this number is expected to increase to 25 million. Learn more about USAID's efforts to improve the lives of children affected by HIV/AIDS.

HIV destroys a certain kind of blood cell (CD4+ T cells) which is crucial to the normal function of the human immune system. In fact, loss of these cells in people with HIV is an extremely powerful predictor of the development of AIDS. Studies of thousands of people have revealed that most people infected with HIV carry the virus for years before enough damage is done to the immune system for AIDS to develop.

I - Immuno-deficiency: because the effect of the virus is to create a deficiency, a failure to work properly, within the body's immune system. V - Virus: because this organism is a virus, which means one of its characteristics is that it is incapable of reproducing by itself. It reproduces by taking over the machinery of the human cell.

Although there have been many advances in HIV treatments and therapies in recent years that have dramatically improved the quality of life and life expectancy of persons with HIV/AIDS in the US and other developed countries, there is, as of yet, no cure.

HIV/AIDS is treated with two groups of medicines. One group of medicines is used to slow the spread of the virus. The other group of medicines is used to fight illnesses that are caused by a weakened immune system. These medicines cannot cure HIV/AIDS, but they do help people live a healthier life for a longer period of time than if they did not take any medicine. Finding and treating HIV/AIDS early is the best way to take care of yourself.

HIV/AIDS cannot be cured. That is why it is so important to keep from getting it in the first place. Here are ways to keep from getting HIV/AIDS. ask your sex partner(s) if he or she has HIV/AIDS or other STDs, has had sex with someone who had HIV/AIDS or other STDs, or has sores, rashes, or discharge in the genital area. Do not share razors or anything that might touch blood, semen, or vaginal fluids of an infected person.

HIV is a very delicate virus and does not last long outside of the body. Nor is it spread through casual contact. Generally, the virus is transmitted when sufficient quantities of blood are introduced into the body of another. The structure of a tattoo needle does not lend itself to HIV transmission. According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) there has never been a case of HIV transmission from tattooing in the United States.

According to the CDC, in 2000, an estimated 850,000-950,000 people in the United States were living with HIV and approximately one fourth of these people did not know they were infected. The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) estimates that there are 42 million people in the world living with HIV and 3.2 million of those are children under the age of 15. Over half of all adults living with HIV/AIDS are women. In 2002, approximately 5 million people were newly infected with HIV.

More women are now taking part in AIDS clinical trials across the country. Studies are looking at the signs of HIV/AIDS in women and how HIV/AIDS is passed to babies. Also, doctors are testing creams and gels that women can use to protect themselves from getting HIV/AIDS. If you want more information about AIDS clinical trials, call the AIDS Clinical Trials Information Service, (800) TRIALS-A.

HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus), is the virus that affects the immune system and causes AIDS. AIDS stands for Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome. HIV slowly weakens the immune system's defense against other infections. Currently, there is no vaccine to prevent HIV infection and there is no cure for AIDS.

The modes of transmission are constant. Transmission is sexual (semen or cervical secretions to blood), parenteral (blood to blood), by sharing needles, and perinatal (blood to blood, mother to fetus). There is no evidence that HIV/AIDS is spread by any form of casual contact.

Basic information on HIV and AIDS: the life cycle of HIV, what is a T-cell, medication adherence and more.

People with weakened immune systems may be at risk for more severe illness if they are infected with MRSA, they should follow the same prevention measures and contact their healthcare provider if they think they have been infected.