AIDS and HIV

Thomas L. Patterson

Approximately 21 years ago, HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, was first identified. Today, the World Health Organization estimates that there are 42 million people living with HIV/AIDS worldwide; 38.6 million of these are adults, 19.2 million are women, and 3.2 million are children under the age of 15. In 2002 alone, 5 million new HIV infections occurred, and 3.1 million people died of HIV/AIDS-related causes. HIV/AIDS is now the leading killer among all infectious diseases, and is ranked fourth among all microbial causes of death. From its identification to the end of year 2002, about 27 million people died from AIDS. It is now the seventh leading cause of death among 1- to 4-year-olds, sixth among 15- to 24-year-olds, and second among 25- to 44-year-olds in the United States. About 95% of HIV infections are concentrated in developing countries. The first reported cases of AIDS in the United HIV ...

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