Over 22 million people have died from AIDS.
Over 42 million people are living with HIV/AIDS, and 74 percent of these infected people live in sub-Saharan Africa.
Over 19 million women are living with HIV/AIDS.
By the year 2010, five countries (Ethiopia, Nigeria, China, India, and Russia) with 40 percent of the world's population will add 50 to 75 million infected people to the worldwide pool of HIV disease.
There are 14,000 new infections every day (95 percent in developing countries). HIV/AIDS is a "disease of young people" with half of the 5 million new infections each year occurring among people ages 15 to 24.
The UN estimates that, currently, there are 14 million AIDS orphans and that by 2010 there will be 25 million.
United States:
An estimated one million people are currently living with HIV in the United States, with approximately 40,000 new infections occurring each year.
70 percent of these new infections occur in men and 30 percent occur in women.
By race, 54 percent of the new infections in the United States occur among African Americans, and 64 percent of the new infections in women occur in African American women.
75 percent of the new infections in women are heterosexually transmitted.
Half of all new infections in the United States occur in people 25 years of age or younger.
Courteousy of: (http://www.until.org/statistics.shtml)
Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is a virus. You may hear that someone is "HIV infected", "has HIV infection", or "has HIV disease." These are all terms that mean the person has HIV in his or her body and can pass the virus to other people.
HIV attacks the body's immune system. The immune system protects the body from infections and disease, but has no clear way to protect it from HIV. Over time, most people infected with HIV become less able to fight off the germs that we are all exposed to every day. Many of these germs do not usually make a healthy person sick, but they can cause life-threatening infections and cancers in a person whose immune system has been weakened by HIV.
People infected with HIV may have no symptoms for 10 or more years. They may not know they are infected. An HIV test is the only way to find out if you have HIV. See HIV Counseling and Testing for information and resources on HIV testing in New York State.
HIV spreads when infected blood, semen, vaginal fluids, or breast milk gets into the bloodstream of another person through:
direct entry into a blood vessel;
mucous linings, such as the vagina, rectum, penis, mouth, eyes, or nose, or
a break in the skin.
HIV is not spread through saliva (spit).
HIV is spread through:
Vaginal, anal, or oral sex without using a condom.
Sharing needles, syringes, or works to inject drugs, vitamins, hormones, steroids, or medicines.
Women with HIV infection can pass HIV to their babies during pregnancy, delivery, and breastfeeding.
People who are exposed to blood and/or body fluids at work, like health care workers, may be exposed to HIV through needle-sticks or other on-the-job exposures.
It may also be possible to pass HIV through sharing needles for piercing or tattooing.
A person infected with HIV can pass the virus to others during these activities. This is true even if the person:
has no symptoms of HIV
has not been diagnosed with AIDS
is taking HIV medications
has an "undetectable" viral load
HIV is not spread by casual contact like sneezing, coughing, eating or drinking from common utensils, shaking hands, hugging, or use of restrooms and drinking fountains.
AIDS
Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is a late stage of HIV disease. There are medications that have helped people living with HIV or AIDS live longer, healthier lives. Some people have lived for more than 20 years and have taken medicines for more than 10 years. But, there is no cure.