AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) is a severe disorder caused by the retrovirus HIV, resulting in a defect in cell-mediated immune response. This leads to increased susceptibility to opportunistic infections and to certain rare cancers, especially kaposis sarcoma. HIV is transmitted through blood, seamen, and vaginal secretions. AIDS essentially wears down the immune system. Then, ultimately an infected person dies from common sicknesses that normally would be

AIDS spreads very rapidly, although it has spread at a far lower rate in the United States than in Africa. Several factors contribute to the spread of AIDS: ignorance, poverty, and discomfort about discussing sex. In the U.S., safe sex is encouraged and talking about AIDS and how real it is happens frequently. While in Africa, a father and son would rarely talk about how important it is to be very careful, and how anyone can get the disorder. In many African countries, it is considered improper and unnecessary to discuss sex and safe sex practices.

Another reason for the speedy exchange of the disease is the high rate of prostitution. Out of town workers, or laborers looking for a good time who don't exercise safe sex, will often visit these sex vendors; this spreads AIDS unbelievably fast, since nine out of ten prostitutes are infected with this treacherous virus. .

In Africa, AIDS is an indirect result of the illiteracy and the poverty of the people. This leads to the lack of knowledge regarding reproductive health. There are so many myths that some of the men and women of Africa believe. A particularly interesting myth is that if a man appears healthy, then he couldn't have AIDS. Luckily, the U.S. has done a good job making the American people understand safe sex and the disorder itself. If only it was possible to do the same in Africa.

Just to give some perspective, the bubonic plague killed approximately 30 million people in Europe. The U.S. Census Bureau projects that by the year 2010, 71 million sub-Saharan Africans died from AIDS.

Not only has AIDS hurt the African economy as a whole, and for individual businesses, it has nearly quadrupled the cost of life insurance in Zimbabwe and other highly infected countries. This has escalated the health costs in Botswanan companies by 500%. These two countries have had a population decline of 25%. That, too, has had a negative effect on the economy (not to mention the tragedy of losing 25% of the population).

blocked by the immune system. The main ways the virus is transmitted are:

In the U.S., taking a drug "cocktail" is a commonly used method of symptom suppression. It is basically what it sounds like, a unique, individualized combination of 15 to 20 pills tailored to the needs of a particular person. This can increase the quality of life for an AIDS patient dramatically.

The majority of Africas are not tested for HIV. To make matters worse, the rapid urbanization of the mobile work force helped to increase the percentage of infected people to up to 50% in some cities. The number of men with AIDS is significantly less than that of women. Women between the ages of 15 and 19 are 6 times more likely to get infected. This is in part due to the fact that many African societies are male dominated. Some males believe that having sex with a virgin will cure them from the deadly virus they carry. When truly, they are simply infecting 12-year-old girls with AIDS. That myth alone has caused and is

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