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.

About half of the people with HIV develop AIDS within 10 years, but the time between infection with HIV and the onset of AIDS can vary greatly. The severity of the HIV-related illness or illnesses will differ from person to person, according to many factors, including the overall health of the individual. Today there are promising new medical treatments that can postpone many of the illnesses associated with AIDS.

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.

Over the course of the 1986-1996 decade, AIDS incidence among African American women increased most dramatically among women infected heterosexually. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 91% of all pediatric AIDS cased reported in 1997 were infants born to HIV-positive mothers. African American and Latina women collectively account for four out of five female AIDS cases reported in the United States.

People infected with HIV may take 7-10 years to develop AIDS. In developing countries like India, the progression to AIDS may be sooner because of malnutrition and a poorer state of health.

A person living with HIV (medically known as an HIV positive person) is one who has virus in his/her body. Such a person, remains infected and is presumed infective for the rest of his/her life. However, s/he will appear to be perfectly normal and healthy and asymptomatic for many years. An asymptomatic HIV infected person does not have Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS).

Infection with HIV in this way is rare. There have only been a couple of documented cases of HIV transmission resulting from biting. In these particular cases, severe tissue tearing and damage were reported in addition to the presence of blood. REF: HOW AIDS CAN BE TRANSMITTED

A blood test can determine whether or not a person is infected with HIV. The most commonly used test detects antibodies (disease-fighting proteins) against HIV. It may take as long as three to six months for HIV antibodies to reach levels that are measurable in standard blood tests.

The only way to tell you have HIV is be tested for the virus. You cannot rely on symptoms to tell if you or someone you know is infected. The symptoms of HIV are similar to many other illnesses and many people have no symptoms at all. The symptoms of AIDS are also similar to other diseases. If a person is infected with HIV, the only way to tell if they have progressed to AIDS is to be diagnosed by a doctor using the CDC defined criteria.

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.

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.