This is a terrible disease, for which we do not yet have a curE.Nor do we have a vaccinE.Meanwhile, the mortality rate for AIDS is 100 percent.
AIDS means that the immune system of a person has gone wrong. The immune system is the biological system in your body which fights off diseases. This system is composed mostly of what are commonly termed 'white blood cells.'
These cells are the hunters in the body. When a virus, such as the common cold, invades the body, the white blood cells rush to the invader and kill it.
While these blood cells are busy killing an invader, the body's immune system is said to 'be under attack.' If another virus or bacteria enters the body at the same time as the white blood cells are busy fighting off an invader, the second attacker has a better chance of injuring the rest of the body's system.
Scientists found the virus that causes AIDS and named it HIV. The HIV virus attacks the white blood cells and kills them, thus preventing these white cells from carrying on their important work of killing the other invading viruses.
We cannot tell if a person has an HIV infection just by looking at him. And here lies part of the problem about the spread of HIV infection among peoplE.For at least the first few years after a person has contracted the HIV virus, there are no indications that the person has the HIV virus in his/her bloodstream.
However, during this time the person carrying the virus can pass it onto other people through intimate sexual relations or sharing blood with them.
Then how do we know if we have HIV or not? The answer is simplE.Have an HIV blood test. This simple, painless AIDS test will take only a few minutes of your time, and, if you are at all in doubt about whether you might have contracted the HIV virus, it is a life-saving endeavor.