AIDS

Acquired immune deficiency syndrome, AIDS, is a serious disease that becomes more and more common in our nation and around the world. 

AIDS is defined by certain criteria established by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention based on lab evidence such as T4 cell count, the presence of certain diseases, and other conditions.

WHAT CAUSES AIDS?

This disease is caused by the virus known as Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 (HIV-1) (Structure of HIV), which attacks cells in the immune system, leading to the system's inability to resist harmful organisms.  It damages the cells in the immune system, causing the body to lose the ability to fight off infections and diseases.  During the course of infection, CD4 T-cells (a special type of infection-fighting white blood cells) are disabled and killed as their numbers decline.

From 1981, when the first cases of AIDS were reported, through mid-1995, more than 476,000 individuals had contracted AIDS in the U.S.   More than 295,000 of these individuals died.  These numbers do not include those infected with HIV.  Without  symptoms of AIDS, nearly 1 million Americans have been infected with HIV through the mid-1990's.  An estimated 19 million individuals world-wide have been infected with AIDS since the late 1970's.

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