Infection with the human immunodeficiency virus and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV / AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). After the initial infection, a person may not notice any symptoms or experience a brief period of illness similar to the flu. Typically, this is followed by a prolonged period without symptoms. As the infection progresses, it interferes more with the immune system, increasing the risk of common infections such as tuberculosis, as well as other opportunistic infections and tumors that rarely affect people who have an active immune system. These late symptoms of the infection are known as acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). This stage is often also associated with weight loss.
HIV is transmitted mainly through unprotected sex (including anal and oral sex), contaminated blood transfusions, hypodermic needles and from mother to child during pregnancy, delivery or breastfeeding. Some body fluids, such as saliva and tears, do not transmit HIV. Prevention methods include safe sex, needle exchange programs, treatment of infected people and male circumcision. Illness in a baby can often be prevented by administering antiretroviral drugs for both the mother and the child. There is no cure or vaccine; however, antiretroviral treatment can delay the course of the disease and can lead to an almost normal life expectancy. Treatment is recommended as soon as the diagnosis is made. Without treatment, the average survival time after infection is 11 years.
In 2016, around 36.7 million people were living with HIV and caused 1 million deaths. There were 300,000 new cases of new HIV in 2016 than in 2015. The majority of infected people live in sub-Saharan Africa. Between its discovery and 2014, AIDS has caused an estimated 39 million deaths worldwide. HIV / AIDS is considered a pandemic, an outbreak of disease that is present in a large area and is actively spreading. It is believed that HIV originated in west-central Africa in the late nineteenth or early twentieth century. AIDS was recognized for the first time by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the United States (CDC) in 1981 and its cause, HIV infection, was identified in the first part of the decade.
HIV / AIDS has had a great impact on society, as a disease and as a source of discrimination. The disease also has a great economic impact. There are many misconceptions about HIV / AIDS, such as the belief that it can be transmitted through nonsexual casual contact. The disease has become the subject of many controversies related to religion, including the position of the Catholic Church not to support the use of condoms as prevention. It has attracted international medical and political attention, as well as large-scale funding since it was identified in the 1980s.