Knowledge About AIDS

You've probably heard of the AIDS virus.  Most people have.  Unfortunately, most people don't really know what it is.  They know that it kills people, but that's about it.  And they often have all sorts of ideas about the virus that are just simply not true.  It is very important that the right information about AIDS and HIV gets out there.  A good education about the virus can help many people avoid getting sick.



AIDS stands for Acquire Immune Deficiency System.  This means that the virus attack your immune system.  It hurts your white blood cells, which means that you won't be able to fight off infections and diseases like would normally be able to.  AIDS is an advanced stage of the HIV virus.  HIV stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus.  The biggest difference between the two is the quality of life.  With HIV, you can be expected to live a relatively normal and long life.  That isn't the case with AIDS.  Most people with AIDS eventually die from it within six to nineteen months of getting infected.

It is hard to determine where exactly HIV came from, although most scientists theorize, through a lot of research, that AIDS originates from Africa.  Even today, AIDS in Africa is much worse than anywhere else in the world.  There is a much higher concentration and population of the virus on this continent.  It is especially terrible in the African countries south of the Sahara desert. 

There are many reasons why there are so many people with AIDS in Africa.  One of the largest reasons is because of how poor these countries are.  The governments there do not have the money to spend on educating people about the virus.  Education is key.  It is important to teach people about how they can contract the virus.  This way, they can avoid it.  Unfortunately, they don't have that kind of privilege in Africa. 

There is also a lack of medical help in Africa.  They can't afford to provide people with doctors when they get sick.  This means that they end up dying much quicker than they would if they had treatment.  There are a countless number of organizations out there that are devoted to helping the people in Africa by providing them with education and medical supplies. 

Although most people who have AIDS live in Africa (approximately three quarters of the total amount of infected people) there are still more who live elsewhere.  In fact, most countries have a population of people with the illness.  Recent numbers show that more than 33 million people in the world have AIDS, and over two million have died from it.  As you can see, this is a very serious problem.

AIDS and HIV are considered a pandemic.  This is similar to an epidemic, a widespread disease affecting a lot of people, except that it hurts even more people.  AIDS is a very serious problem.  Unfortunately, there is no cure.  Although scientists have been working on this for decades, they have yet to come up with anything.  They still plan to work as hard as they can find a cure for the virus.  In the meantime, they are developing really great medical treatments that soothe the symptoms for people who are sick with the virus. 

AIDS and HIV are a really big problem.  You can help by donating your time or money to one of the various organizations in your area.  Most countries have at least one organization devoted to the virus.  By giving money and time, you are going to do a world of good for the cause, which is greatly needed.