HIV and AIDS: Who Is Affected
Topic Overview
HIV and AIDS can affect anyone. Worldwide, an estimated 33
million people are living with
HIV
or
AIDS
.
1
In the United States,
more than a million people are infected with HIV.
2
Many of these people do not know they are infected.
Since the use
of antiretroviral therapy (ART) became widespread in 1996, the
incidence of AIDS has decreased. Factors responsible for the decline in the
incidence of new AIDS cases include:
3
- Fewer people are becoming infected with HIV today
than in the early 1980s.
- Improved treatments for HIV infection.
ART slows the rate at which HIV multiplies in the body. This helps keep a
person's
immune system
healthy longer, which may slow the rate
at which
opportunistic diseases
(such as
pneumonia
) develop.
- More effective
treatments are available to prevent HIV-related infections.
References
Citations
-
United Nations Programme on
HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), World Health Organization (WHO) (2009). AIDS Epidemic Update: December 2009
. Available online:
http://data.unaids.org/pub/Report/2009/JC1700_Epi_Update_2009_en.pdf.
-
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2008). HIV prevalence estimates—United States, 2006. MMWR, 57(39): 1073–1076.
-
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2008). HIV transmission rates in the United States—CDC Fact Sheet. Available online: http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/topics/surveillance/resources/factsheets/pdf/transmission.pdf.
Credits
|
By
| Healthwise Staff |
|
Primary Medical Reviewer
| E. Gregory Thompson, MD - Internal Medicine |
|
Specialist Medical Reviewer
| Peter Shalit, MD, PhD - Internal Medicine |
|
Last Revised
| October 22, 2012 |
Last Revised:
October 22, 2012
United Nations Programme on
HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), World Health Organization (WHO) (2009). AIDS Epidemic Update: December 2009. Available online:
http://data.unaids.org/pub/Report/2009/JC1700_Epi_Update_2009_en.pdf.
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2008). HIV prevalence estimates—United States, 2006. MMWR, 57(39): 1073–1076.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2008). HIV transmission rates in the United States—CDC Fact Sheet. Available online: http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/topics/surveillance/resources/factsheets/pdf/transmission.pdf.
Print This Page
