What is HIV?
HIV stands for: Human Immunodeficiency Virus
HIV is a virus. Viruses such as HIV cannot grow or reproduce on their own, they need to infect the cells of a living organism in order to replicate (make new copies of themselves). The human immune system usually finds and kills viruses fairly quickly, but HIV attacks the immune system itself – the very thing that would normally get rid of a virus.
With around 2.7 million people becoming infected with HIV in 2008, there are now an estimated 33 million people around the world who are living with HIV, including millions who have developed AIDS.
What is AIDS?
AIDS stands for: Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome
AIDS is a medical condition. A person is diagnosed with AIDS when their immune system is too weak to fight off infections.
Since AIDS was first identified in the early 1980s, an unprecedented number of people have been affected by the global AIDS epidemic. Today, there are an estimated 33.4 million people living with HIV and AIDS and each year around two million people die from AIDS related illnesses. In Nepal it was first identified in 1984s.
What is the connection between HIV and AIDS?
HIV causes AIDS by damaging the immune system cells until the immune system can no longer fight off other infections that it would usually be able to prevent.
It takes around ten years on average for someone with HIV to develop AIDS. However, this average is based on the person with HIV having a reasonable diet, and someone who is malnourished may well progress from HIV to AIDS more rapidly.
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