HIV and AIDS
- Globally, the primary mode of transmission is unprotected intercourse between
men and women (World Health Organization report, 5/04).
- Other means of transmission include:
- Unprotected penetrative intercourse between men
- Prostitution
- IV drug abuse/shared needles
- Unsafe injections/blood transfusions
- Vertical transmission (mother to fetus during pregnancy, labor and delivery
and breast-feeding)
- Prevention measures include abstinence, safe sex practices (condoms), and
needle exchange programs.
- Of all people age 15-49 years old worldwide, 1.1% are now infected
with HIV.
- More than 2 million women with HIV infection give birth each year.
- 630,000 infants contract HIV infection from their mothers each year.
- In 2003 alone:
- 4.8 million people became infected with HIV
- Approximately 2.9 million people died of HIV
- In North America, there were 16,000 AIDS related deaths
- Approximately 490,000 children under 15 yrs old died of HIV/AIDS
- In the US, nearly 950,000 people are living with HIV.
- In Botswana, HIV affects 37.3% of all adults.
- The nine countries with the most HIV-infected people include: South Africa,
Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Mozambique.
- HIV/AIDS in Women:
- Nearly half of all people living with HIV now are women; their infection
rates in many regions are climbing much faster than men's.
- In southern Africa, teenage girls are five times more likely to become
infected than teenage boys.
- In the Caribbean, 70% of new infections are in women.
- Across the world, 17 million women are infected.
- Without treatment, it takes 9-11 years for HIV infection to progress to
full-blown AIDS.
- Treatment coverage rates have been described as dismal. Despite progress,
there is a huge gap between the number of people in developing countries who
need treatment (4 to 8 million) and the number being treated (approximately
400,000).
- By year end 2003:
- 34.6--42.3 million people worldwide were living with HIV
- More than 20 million people worldwide had died of AIDS
- 2.1 million children affected with HIV were under 15 years old
Primary Source: New England Journal of Medicine; 7/8/04
Created: 7/23/2004 - Donnica Moore, M.D.
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