Basic Facts About HIV And AIDS

摘要

This a basic report on the current status of acquired immune deficiency syndrome AIDS/HIV. It deals with the current status of this horrible disease. It defines the basic information and terminology and lists the method of management for non medical readers. This report would give the reader the primer to understand this disease. The Epidemiological Background The epidemiology and burden of HIV in the developing world had two distinct viruses. HIV types 1 and 2 (HIV-1/HIV-2) cause AIDS. HIV-1 is responsible for the great majority of infections globally. The life cycle of the virus can be viewed at web link http://www.aids.org/factSheets/400-HIV-Life-Cycle.html While HIV-2 is very rare outside West Africa, individual cases of HIV-2 infection have been described in other parts of Africa, Europe, the Americas, and Asia (India), but most people with HIV-2 infection have some epidemiological link to West Africa. Several reports published by international health agencies like the World Health Organization WHO and the United Nations agencies UNFPA conclude that AIDS is the leading cause of death in sub-Saharan Africa and the fourth biggest killer worldwide.[Table 1]