Infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a group of diseases caused by the retrovirus human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). After a first infection, a person may suffer no symptoms or a brief period of influenza-like sickness.
This is usually followed by a long period with no symphony. Unprotected intercourse (including anal and oral sex), contaminated blood transfusions, hypodermic needles, and transmission from mother to child during pregnancy, delivery, or nursing are the most common ways for HIV to spread.
Saliva, sweat, and tears are examples of body fluids that do not spread the virus. Preventative measures include safe sex, needle exchange programmes, treating sick people, and pre- and post-exposure prophylaxis. Disease in a new born may frequently be avoided by administering antiretroviral medicine to both the mother and the kid.
Although there is no cure or vaccine, antiretroviral therapy can help to halt the progression of the disease and lead to a near-normal life expectancy. In 2019, over 38 million individuals worldwide were living with HIV, with 690,000 fatalities. Eastern and southern Africa account for 20.6 million of these people.
Between the time AIDS was discovered (in the early 1980s) and 2018, the illness is believed to have killed 35 million people throughout the world. HIV/AIDS is classified as a pandemic, or a disease epidemic T i n the early to mi twentieth century, HIV spread from other primates to humans in west-central Africa.
The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) first diagnosed AIDS in 1981, and its cause—HIV infection—was discovered in the early part of the decade. hat is widespread. s a disease and a cause of prejudice, HIV/AIDS has had a significant influence on society.
The illness has a significant economic impact as well. Many people have misunderstandings regarding HIV/AIDS, such as the idea that it may be spread through non-sexual contact. Many religious debates have erupted around the sickness, including the Catholic Church's decision not to sue.