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.

Answer: No, not necessarily. Not everyone will have symptoms of an STD even though they are infected. A partner can pass a disease to another without ever knowing s/he has had something. You, the unfortunate current partner, may be the one that actually ends up with symptoms. You may also have received your STD from a previous partner years ago and are just now seeing the signs of the disease.

Since 1992, scientists have estimated that about half the people with HIV develop AIDS within 10 years after becoming infected. This time varies greatly from person to person and can depend on many factors, including a person's health status and their health-related behaviors. Today there are medical treatments that can slow down the rate at which HIV weakens the immune system.

Several STDs other than HIV/AIDs (Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome) are quite serious. Diseases like syphilis, gonorrhea, and chlamydia can have long-term consequences, including pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), which can lead to sterility and chronic pelvic pain. Human papilloma virus (HPV), the virus that causes genital warts, is strongly linked to the development of cervical cancer.

Answer: No. Each STD, including HIV, has its own test. Talk to your provider to make sure you're getting the test you need.

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.

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.

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.

When HIV enters your body, it infects your "CD4 cells" and kills them. CD4 cells (sometimes called T-helper cells) help your body fight off infection and disease. Usually, CD4 cell counts in someone with a healthy immune system range from 500 to 1800. When you lose CD4 cells, your immune system breaks down and you can't fight infections and diseases as well. When your CD4 cell count goes under 200, doctors say you have AIDS.

HIV and HIV-related illnesses vary from person to person. People can live with HIV for many years. Your doctor will design a medical care plan for you. Your doctor will tell you about the risks and benefits of the drugs for HIV and when you need to start taking them. Many drugs are used together to treat HIV. These drugs often include "antiretroviral" medicines. These medicines are powerful drugs, but they are not cures for HIV.

There IS a very important link between syphilis, as well as other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), and HIV. Studies have repeatedly demonstrated that people are more likely to become infected with HIV when other STDs are present. This is because some STDs, like syphilis, cause lesions or sores that can serve as a way for HIV to enter a person's body. Other common STDs, like gonorrhea or chlamydia, can irritate sensitive membranes in the penis, vagina, or anus.