HIV, or human immunodeficiency virus, is an infectious agent that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a disease that leaves a person vulnerable to life-threatening infections. HIV transmission occurs when a person is exposed to body fluids infected with the virus, such as blood, semen, vaginal secretions, and breast milk.

The primary modes of HIV transmission are sexual relations with an infected person; sharing hypodermic needles or accidental pricking by a needle contaminated with infected blood; and transfer of the virus from an infected mother to her baby during pregnancy, childbirth, or through breast-feeding.

In the United States, HIV and AIDS remains a significant cause of illness, disability, and death among virtually every racial and ethnic population, every age group, and every socioeconomic group. HIV infection is the fifth leading cause of death for people who are 25-44 years old in the United States, and is the leading cause of death for African American men ages 35-44. Overall, 850,000 to 950,000 United States residents are living with HIV infection, one-quarter of whom are unaware of their infection. Approximately 40,000 new HIV infections occur each year in the United States, and approximately 5 million new HIV cases occur each year worldwide.

 
However, elimination of disparities in the rate of infection among certain racial and ethnic groups, particularly African American and Hispanic populations, continues to be a challenge.  According to the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), AIDS affects nearly seven times more African Americans and three times more

 

 

Hispanics than whites. Although African-American and Hispanic persons represent about one-quarter of the country's population, more than half of new AIDS cases reported to CDC are among these populations. Among children, the disparities are even more dramatic,
 

Because HIV has no vaccine available, the only way to prevent infection by the virus is to avoid behaviors that put a person at risk of infection, such as sharing needles and having unprotected sex. Many people infected with HIV have no symptoms, therefore, there is no way of knowing whether a sexual partner is infected unless he or she has repeatedly tested negative for the virus and has not engaged in any risky

 
behavior. People should either abstain from having sex or use condoms. When used consistently and correctly, latex condoms are highly effective in preventing HIV transmission. Increased use of HIV is essential for slowing the spread of HIV infection.
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