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What is HIV?
Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is a life-threatening condition that results from an infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HlV). Unless it's treated, this chronic viral infection slowly destroys your immune system.
HlV lowers your immune system's ability to produce the white blood cells and antibodies that protect you from invading organisms. Lowered immunity makes you more vulnerable to attacks from viruses, fungi and bacteria, and may lead to infectious diseases and tumors. Eventually, these illnesses may become serious enough to cause death.
HIV Statistics:
- AIDS is the leading cause of death for African Americans between the ages of 24-44.
- 63% of the new cases of AIDS among women in the U.S. are Black
- 53% of the new cases of AIDS in America are in the Black community
- Sixteen black men die from AIDS everyday
- The AIDS rates among African Americans is 8 times that of white Americans.
Worldwide, about 34 million people have HIV, including an estimated 650,000 to 900,000 Americans. New infections worldwide in 1999 totaled 5.6 million people, including 40,000 Americans. More than 95 percent of new infections occur in developing countries, In the United States, AIDS is the fifth-leading cause of death for people between the ages of 25 and 44. Although AIDS is a fatal illness with no cure, there have been significant advances in the treatment of AIDS
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