AIDS cases were first identified in 1981,in the United States. Researchers have traced cases back to 1959. There are millions of diagnosed cases worldwide, but there is no cure (Drotman 163). There are about a million people in the United States who are currently infected with HIV (HIV/AIDS 1). It infects the population heavily in some areas of the country and very lightly in other areas. No race, sex, social class, or age is immune (AIDS Understand

The only way to stem the spread of infection remains the public health approach, educating people on how to avoid infection or educating the infected people on how to avoid infecting someone else. There are many ways to prevent the transmission and spread of AIDS. A person has to be aware, because most people who are infected don't know they are(Nichols 3). One way to prevent infection is to not engage in the act of sexual intercourse with anyone who is or might be infected. If someone is going to , then he or she should atleast use a latex condom. It is medically proven that latex condoms can help to prevent HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases. HIV can not pass through the intact rubber film. It is almost impossible to catch the virus if the condom is used properly. This means using a good quality condom, one with the kite mark, with a spermicide. The condom itself can kill the virus(HIV/AIDS 2). Condoms don't completely eliminate the risk of being infected because they can tear, break, or slip off. Birth control pills and diaphragms will not protect a person or his or her partner from getting HIV either(HIV/AIDS 4). Drug users should seek professional help to stop doing drugs. They should never share hypodermic needles, syringes, or other injection equipment. Azidothymidine, commonly known as AZT, may reduce the risk of an infected woman transmitting it to her fetus or baby. Also, infected women should not breast feed their infants, since HIV can be present in the breast milk of an infected woman(Drotman 164).

There are a number of things that a person can not get HIV from, that people are skeptical about. A person can not get AIDS from handshakes, hugs, coughs, sneezes, sweat, tears, mosquitoes, or other insects, pets, eating food prepared by someone else, or just being around an infected person. A person can't get it from sharing a cigarette, cigar, or pipe, drinking from the same fountain, or from someone spitting on him or her. A person also can't get it from using the same swimming pools, toilet seats, phones, computers, straws, spoons, or cups. Although the virus has been found in saliva, medical opinion states there is no evidence of contamination through "wet kissing"(What are HIV/AIDS 1). HIV is not spread through the air or water, unlike many other viruses(HIV/AIDS 2). No one has ever caught AIDS by going to a physician or an eye doctor who has treated AIDS patients. No one has ever caught AIDS by eating in a restaurant where AIDS patients have been, nor by sharing a dwelling in which AIDS victims live. No one has caught AIDS by working, studying, or playing with an AIDS patient, unless bodily fluids were exchanged. No one has ever gotten AIDS from an insect bite, even where there are many people with AIDS and even where there are many people with dozens of mosquito bites(AIDS, Understanding 2).

HIV is very fragile. It doesn't live long or well outside the human body. It is easily killed with a 1:10 solution of bleach and water. It can be washed from skin with regular soaps. HIV will not survive outside the human body for more than a few hours at the most(Quackenbush 23).

If a person thinks he or she might have HIV, he or she can get tested. HIV tests determine the presence of antibodies to the AIDS virus. Antibodies are proteins produced by certain white blood cells to react with specific viruses, bacteria, or foreign substances that go into the body. The presence of antibodies to HIV indicates infection with the virus. The tests that detect the presence of HIV-1 became widely available in 1985. The tests that detect HIV-2 became widely available in 1992. All infected patients should get blood tests done periodically. They should also have their health monitored by a physician(Drotman 164).

The third way of getting HIV is an infected woman transmitting it to her fetus or baby. A pregnant woman with HIV can pass the virus to her child before or after birth. The way this happens is the fetus gets nou

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