HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) is a virus that weakens the body’s defense (immune) system until it can no longer fight off illnesses, such as pneumonia, tuberculosis, cancerous tumors and others.
HIV kills CD4 cells (T cells), which direct the body’s immune system to defend against infection.

A person is considered to have AIDS (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome) when the immune system is seriously damaged by HIV.
In the U.S., an HIV-infected person receives a diagnosis of AIDS when his or her CD4 count is less than 200 or if diagnosed with a specific illness. (An average CD4 cell count in a healthy person is 1,150.)

There is still no cure or vaccine for HIV or AIDS.
There are new drug treatments that can help many people with HIV stay healthy longer and delay the onset of AIDS. As a result of these drugs, the number of HIV cases that develop into AIDS, and the number of AIDS-related deaths, have dropped dramatically in the U.S.

HIV can only be passed from person to person through body fluids, like blood, semen and vaginal fluid. The most common ways HIV is passed are:

• By having unprotected anal, vaginal or oral sex with an infected person.
• By sharing needles and syringes for injecting drugs with an infected person.

Children born to infected mothers can also become infected during pregnancy.

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