HIV AND AIDS
Good afternoon everyone. Today I would like to inform you all about HIV, human immunodeficiency virus, and AIDS, aquired immune deficiency syndrome. Statistics show that about 35% of AIDS cases have been in the age group of 20-29. Now many of you may already know that AIDS has a long period between infection with the virus and the appearance of symptoms. Meaning that some of those people between the ages 20 and 29 probably contracted the virus when they were teenagers. Being that most of us in this room fall near or in that age range, my goal today is to inform you of how the virus is contracted, symptoms of this disease, and most importantly, the best way to go about taking more precaution into preventing this fatal disease. AIDS is preceded by HIV infection. HIV can only be transmitted three different ways (refer to visual aid). (1) The first is through sexual contact. This is the most common way HIV is contracted. It can be passed when an infected person has vaginal or anal intercourse with another. (2) The second way this deadly virus is transmitted is through the exchange of blood. This method of transmission is now alm
ost entirely limited to people who inject drugs and share needles. This type of contact between an infected person and someone else is the second most common way this virus is passed. HIV can also be contracted through blood transfusions. Now blood transfusions are far safer now than they were in the early years of the AIDS problem. (3) The third way is from mother to child. Sadly, most children with HIV contracted it from their infected mothers during pregnancy or childbirth. If the woman is infected, her child has a 50/50 chance of being born with the virus. Once, or if, this virus is contracted through these ways, the symptoms of the HIV infection may not appear for a long time after the person gets infected. The best ways to prevent and reduce the risks that are related to sex are: (1) sexual fidelty. It is unlikely that a monogamous couple will become infected with AIDS. (2) Practice safe sex. For example, the proper use of condoms is one imperative way of preventing this virus from entering one's body. (3) Careful selection of partners. In other words, do not have sex with just anybody. Make sure your partner has not had several sex partners, does not use intravenous drugs, and make sure its not someone who has had any sexually transmitted diseases. (4) Avoid multiple sex partners. Simple as that, the more sex partners a person has, the greater the chance of getting an HIV infection. And last but not least
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Approximate Word count = 969
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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