World AIDS Day - 1st of December

Here’s an interesting fact to know! HIV-1 virus and Ebola virus made a leap to humans as a consequence of a tribal taste of chimpanzee or bush meat. With the epidemic of Ebola being a threat now, HIV infection cannot be forgotten by mankind. HIV / AIDS still claims around 10,000 deaths a year in developed nations like America.

World AIDS Day on 1st December brings together people from around the world to raise awareness about HIV / AIDS and demonstrates international solidarity in the face of the pandemic.
World AIDS Day, between the years 2011 and 2015, will have the theme of "Getting to zero: zero new HIV infections. Zero discrimination. Zero AIDS related deaths".

Key facts:
HIV is a major global public health issue. It has claimed more than 25 million lives over the past three decades.
There were approximately 35.3 million people living with HIV in 2012. Sixty nine percent of all people living with HIV are living in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Transmission:
HIV can be transmitted via the exchange of a variety of bodily fluids from infected individuals, such as blood, breast milk, semen and vaginal secretions. It does not transmit through ordinary contact such as kissing, hugging, shaking hands or sharing personal objects like food and water.

Signs and symptoms:
The symptoms of HIV vary, depending on the stage of infection.

• During the first few weeks after initial infection: individuals may experience no symptoms or an influenza-like illness including fever, headache, rash or sore throat.
• As the infection progresses, the following signs and symptoms may appear: Swollen lymph nodes, weight loss, fever, diarrhea and cough.
• In later stages, they can also develop illnesses like tuberculosis, cryptococcal meningitis and cancers such as lymphomas, Kaposi's sarcoma etc.

Diagnosis:
The usual tests are ELISA, Western Blot Test and PCR - DNA Test.

Treatment:
HIV can be suppressed by combination antiretroviral therapy (ART) consisting of three or more antiretroviral drugs (ARV).

Prevention: 
Approaches for HIV prevention include:

• Male and female condom use
• Testing and counselling for HIV and sexually transmitted infections
• Voluntary medical male circumcision
• Antiretroviral drug (ARV) based prevention
• Using sterile injecting equipment by injecting drug users
• Elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV by providing ARVs

1st December: The day is an opportunity for public and private partners to spread awareness about the status of the pandemic and encourage progress in HIV / AIDS prevention, treatment and care in high prevalence countries around the world.