HIV and AIDS can affect anyone. Worldwide, an estimated 33 million people are living with HIV or AIDS.1 In the United States, between 850,000 and 950,000 people are living with HIV. About 1 in 4 of these people do not know they are infected.2
Since the use of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) became widespread in 1996, the incidence of AIDS has decreased. Factors responsible for the decline in the incidence of new AIDS cases include:3
- Fewer people are becoming infected with HIV today than in the early 1980s.
- Improved treatments for HIV infection. HAART slows the rate at which HIV multiplies in the body. This helps keep a person's immune system healthy longer, which may slow the rate at which opportunistic diseases (such as pneumonia) develop.
- More effective treatments to prevent HIV-related infections.
References
Citations
UNAIDS, WHO (2007). AIDS Epidemic Update: December 2007. Geneva: Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and World Health Organization (WHO). Available online: http://www.unaids.org/en/KnowledgeCentre/HIVData/EpiUpdate/EpiUpdArchive/2007/default.asp.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2004). Quick Facts: Advancing HIV Prevention. Available online: http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/topics/prev_prog/AHP/resources/factsheets/QuickFacts.htm.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2007). Cases of HIV infection and AIDS in the United States and dependent areas, 2005. HIV/AIDS Surveillance Report, 17. Available online: http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/stats/hasrlink.htm.
Credits
| Author | Maria G. Essig, MS, ELS |
| Editor | Susan Van Houten, RN, BSN, MBA |
| Associate Editor | Tracy Landauer |
| Primary Medical Reviewer | Caroline S. Rhoads, MD - Internal Medicine |
| Specialist Medical Reviewer | Peter Shalit, MD, PhD - Internal Medicine |
| Last Updated | May 8, 2008 |
