Pneumonia? Guess Again!

Today, June 5, 2006 is the 25th anniversary of the first report of the AIDS virus. On this day in 1981, a group of five healthy gay men reported cases of pneumonia. Doctors soon learned of a foreign disease that, to their knowledge, had no name, no means of spreading, no treatment, and no cure. The name given to the disease, AIDS, was found to be spreading through gay men groups as the HIV virus. AIDS has continued to spread, most rapidly in Africa and Asia.

AIDS is the deadly disease “acquired immunodeficiency syndrome”. The beginning of the disease is known as the HIV virus. Today, the virus has been discovered to travel by unprotected sexual intercourse, re-used needles, and prenatal infection. Although there is still no cure, there are many medications available that cause the HIV virus to slow down its progress, as well as a test the helps detect AIDS in its earlier stages. “The United Nations estimates that today, HIV…has infected more than 65 million people, 25 million whom have died.” Researchers continue to work vigorously in search of a cure for this fatal disease.