What is HIV/AIDS?

What is HIV/AIDS? Why is it dangerous? HIV, or Human Immunodeficiency Virus, is a sexually-transmitted disease that can be passed form person to person. Other ways of transmission includes blood transfusion and other means of exchanging bodily fluids. HIV is a unique virus because it targets the body's main defense against viruses and other pathogens—the immune system. Not only does HIV lead to the eventual arrival of AIDS, it makes the body susceptible to other deadly diseases such as tuberculosis. What's worse is that there is no known cure for HIV/AIDS, despite all the time and effort that has gone into researching it. While some medications slow the progression of HIV, they only delay the inevitable arrival of AIDS.

What are the symptoms of AIDS? One to three weeks after the transmission of HIV, people tend to experience flu-like symptoms. These include sore throat, headache, skin rash, and tenderness in the lymph nodes. Symptoms in later stages include weight loss, recurring diarrhea, thrush, and vaginal yeast-infection. HIV in children can be especially threatening. Because children have more undeveloped immune systems, they usually experience systems more quickly than most adults. HIV generally infects adult brains in later stages. In contrast, it infects the brains of children much earlier. This affects intellectual development and coordination. HIV is so dangerous to children, more than half of infants infected with HIV die before their second birthday.

Sources:
("AVERT Website- What is AIDS?").
("MSN Encarta - Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome").