By the time an individual with AIDS has reached an AIDS diagnosis counseling program, chances are that they have met with their fair share of ignorance on the subject of the disease. The fact is, although it has been a part of life for many years now, people generally do not understand the disease or its scope on a worldwide level.
To help combat this lack of knowledge, are the vital statistics below regarding AIDS and HIV – and the continued threat they play on the world’s stage.
What is AIDS?
AIDS (or Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) is a disease caused by a virus called HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus). The bodies of those individuals with HIV will produce antibodies that attempt to combat the virus. Blood tests for HIV search for the antibodies. Their presence in the bloodstream signals that an individual is “HIV Positive”.
Being HIV positive does not mean that an individual has AIDS. It may take many years for the antibodies from HIV to break down the immune system of the individual to such a point where they develop AIDS. Incredible new advances in medicinal treatments have elongated this period to the point where many who are diagnosed with HIV will not develop the AIDS virus for many years.
What was once considered a “Death Sentence” can now be treated in such as way that those with HIV can actually outlive the disease itself.
Statistics about HIV and AIDS
According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) in 2006 there were approximately 500,000 people in the United States living with AIDS.
In 2006 there were almost 4,000 children under the age of 13 in the United States living with AIDS. The most common causes for these illnesses were transmission of the disease from mothers during pregnancy or breast feeding.
Pediatric AIDS cases, once thought to be the eventual crux of the AIDS crisis, have continued to drop steadily over the course of the past several years.
Over the past several years, the death rate as a result of AIDS has remained stable in the United States, with an average of 15,000 deaths per year from 2002-2006.
There are approximately 33 million individuals throughout the world living with HIV or AIDS. The large majority of these individuals reside in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Recent studies about the sources of new AIDS cases have found that of the reported AIDS diagnoses in the United States, 60% come from homosexual sex, 25% through IV drug use among heroin users and other illicit drug related activity, and 15% through heterosexual sex.
Among AIDS related deaths in the United States in 2006, 52% of those who died were African-American, 28% were white and 19% were Hispanic.
Moonview Sanctuary helps those individuals with AIDS live a more enriching life. Through AIDS diagnosis counseling that treats the mind, the body and the spirit, Moonview helps improve the lives of those who need it most. Contact Moonview Sanctuary in Santa Monica, California for more information about the Transformational Health Progam.