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AIDS
is a life-threatening disruption of the immune system by the Human Immunodeficiency Virus
(HIV). This virus progressively weakens the body's ability to fight off disease, opening
it to severe infections with both common and exotic organisms, as well as various forms of
cancer. In the United States, most cases of AIDS have been traced to the virus called
HIV-1...[more] HIV/AIDS is spread through bodily fluids, most frequently
blood, male seminal fluid, or female vaginal secretions. For transmission to occur, the
infected fluid must enter the uninfected person's body through some kind of cut or opening
in the skin or mucous membranes in the body.
The virus can be transmitted at any stage of infection. You
need not be symptomatic, or even know you are infected, in order to pass the AIDS virus to
someone else. People are most infectious within the first six months to one year following
their own infection, and then six to ten years later as their immune system becomes more
suppressed.
Signs/Symptoms
Most people who contract HIV remain symptom-free for the first few years. A few suffer a brief period (3 to 14 days) of fever, joint pain, rash, and swollen lymph nodes---the small bean-shaped organs in your neck, jaw, armpits, and groin---within a month of being infected.
Later, as the immune system grows
weaker, a common group of warning signs may appear, including
fevers, night sweats, tiredness, weight loss, coughing, and
diarrhea...[more]
Women and AIDS/HIV (from: The Growing
Danger of AIDS
PDR Family Guide to Women's Health
Chapter 13)
Currently, the number of AIDS cases is
rising more rapidly among women than any other population group.
According to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC).. by October 1993..AIDS was the fourth leading cause of death
in women aged 15 to 44, and the second leading cause of death for
black and Hispanic women in this age group..[more]
Featured WebSite:
* HIV InSite
This site contains up to date information on AID/HIV including: prevention, treatment,
social issues and community/research resources.
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