HIV stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus. It is the virus that causes AIDS – Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome.

People with HIV are infected with the virus. The virus may be passed from one person to another when infected body fluids - blood, semen, or vaginal secretions – come in contact with an uninfected person’s broken skin or mucous membranes. Pregnant women with HIV can pass the virus to their babies during pregnancy, birth, and breast-feeding.

Most people who are infected with HIV develop AIDS. As their immune systems become weaker and weaker, they become sick with opportunistic infections, such as tuberculosis.

If people with HIV/AIDS have a healthy diet and lifestyle, and receive medical treatment, including antiretroviral therapy, they can enjoy productive lives for many years. In the developing world, however, most people who are HIV positive do not know they have the virus, do not have access to nutritious food or ARV treatment, and die of illnesses that would not be fatal to people with a strong immune system.

Where did HIV/AIDS come from?

There are several sub-types of HIV that are prevalent in different parts of the world. The earliest known case of any type of HIV in a human was from a blood sample collected in 1959 from a man in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo. The virus has existed in the United States since the mid- to late 1970s. The first two official AIDS deaths in South Africa were recorded in 1982.

In 1999, an international team of researchers reported that a subspecies of chimpanzee, native to west equatorial Africa, was the original source of the virus. They believe that it passed to humans via Zoonosis (species jumping) when hunters became exposed to infected blood.

How many people are alrady infected with HIV?

Globally, the number of people living with the virus reached 39.4 million by 2004. About one-third of adults living with HIV are young people aged 15 – 24 years. An estimated 4.9 million people acquired the HIV virus in 2004 — 640 000 of them were children, of whom more than 90% were infected through mother-to-child transmission (MTCT). Almost 90% of these new child infections occurred in sub-Saharan Africa, but the number of such infections is increasing in other. According to UNAIDS, 3.1 million people died of AIDS in 2004.

Sub-Saharan Africa is home to about 65% of all people living with HIV and accounts for almost 75% of deaths globally. Southern Africa is the worst-affected region. In 2003, Botswana and Swaziland had the highest prevalence with 37.3% and 38.8% respectively, followed by Lesotho (28.9%), Zimbabwe (24.6%), South Africa (21.5%), Namibia (21.3%), and Zambia (16.5%).

How can i tell if i may be infected with HIV?

The only way to know if you are infected is to be tested for HIV infection; you may not have any symptoms for many years.

There are some symptoms that are common warning signs of infection with HIV:

• rapid weight loss
• dry cough
• recurring fever or night sweats
• severe, unexplained fatigue
• swollen glands in the armpits, groin, or neck
• diarrhoea that lasts for more than a week
• white spots or unusual blemishes on the tongue, or in the mouth or throat
• pneumonia
• TB
• red, brown, pink, or purplish blotches on or under the skin or inside the mouth, nose, or eyelids
• memory loss, depression, and other neurological disorders

However, each of these symptoms can be related to other illnesses so the only way to be sure of HIV infection is to get tested.