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.

There are no common symptoms for individuals diagnosed with AIDS. When immune system damage is more severe, people may experience opportunistic infections (called "opportunistic" because they are caused by organisms which cannot induce disease in people with normal immune systems, but take the "opportunity" to flourish in people with HIV). Most of these more severe infections, diseases and symptoms fall under the Centers for Disease Control's definition of full-blown "AIDS.

Testing & PreventionHIV 101The Biology of HIVHIV/AIDS FAQsSigns & SymptomsData & StatisticsLiving with HIV/AIDSMedication InformationIllnesses & InfectionsResearch & NewsSafer SexWomen s Resources HIV is a complex disease that generates many frequently asked questions. HIV FAQ can help you understand HIV and AIDS if you get the right answers for your questions. Knowledge is power. Understanding HIV and AIDS will allow you to take control of your life.

Once infected with HIV, a person may or may not experience any symptoms. People who do experience symptoms might have a flu-like illness within one or two months after infection. Symptoms can include fever, headache, tiredness and/or enlarged lymph nodes. These symptoms usually disappear within a week to a month and are often mistaken for the symptoms of more common viral infections, like a cold.

Primary HIV infection is the first stage of HIV disease, when the virus first establishes itself in the body. Some researchers use the term acute HIV infection to describe the period of time between when a person is first infected with HIV and when antibodies against the virus are produced by the body (usually 6- 12 weeks). Some people newly infected with HIV will experience some "flu-like" symptoms.

Many people do not develop any symptoms when they first become infected with HIV and often are unaware they have the virus. Those who do, however, may experience flu-like symptoms, such as headache, fever, fatigue, sore throat, enlarged lymph nodes, or rash within two weeks to a month after exposure to the virus. These symptoms usually disappear after a few weeks and often are mistaken for those of another viral infection, such as infectious mononucleosis or the flu.

The initial symptoms of seroconversion (when a person initially becomes HIV+) are similar to mono. A person feels feverish, has swollen glands, sore throat, rash, fatigue, etc. Otherwise a person with AIDS can have multiple symptoms: difficulty swallowing, a coating on the tongue or throat, fevers, dementia, diarrhea, unusual skin lesions, shortness of breath, multiple vaginal yeast infections, cough, weight loss, etc.

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.