AIDSandHIVdefinitionDEFINITION:AIDSandHIVarenotthesamething
HIV(humanimmunodeficiencyvirus)isavirusthatattacksthebody'simmunesystem,whichprotectsyourbodyfromdisease
SomeoneissaidtohaveAIDSiftheirimmunesystemsarebadlydamagedbytheHIVvirus,oriftheydevelopseriousinfectionsconnectedwithHIV
Generally,peopledon'tdiefromAIDSitself,butfromtheotherdiseasesthatAIDSleavesyoususceptibleto
HISTORY:ThetermAIDS("acquiredimmunedeficiencysyndrome")wasfirstusedinJulyof1982
ThoughAIDS-relateddeathsoccurredbefore1982,itwasonlythenthatthemedicalcommunitybegantounderstandthedisease
PresidentRonaldReagandidnotusethewordinpublicuntilthreeyearslaterin1985
YOUWON'TGETITFROM:YoucannotgetHIVorAIDSfromcasualcontact
Casualkissing,hugging,sharingtoiletseatsorwaterfountainswillnotcauseyoutogetHIV
Sincetheviruscan'tliveout