AIDS – STATISTICS
What is HIV and What is AIDS?
HIV stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus. It is the virus that causes AIDS. AIDS stands for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome.
HIV can be transmitted through the blood, sexual fluids, or breast milk of an HIV-infected person. People can get HIV if one of these fluids enters the body and into the bloodstream. The disease can be passed during unprotected sex with a HIV-infected person. An HIV-infected mother can transmit HIV to her infant during pregnancy, delivery or while breastfeeding. People can also become infected with HIV when using injection drugs through sharing needles and other equipment.
Over time, infection with HIV can weaken the immune system to the point that the system has difficulty fighting off certain infections. These types of infections are known as opportunistic infections. These infections are usually controlled by a healthy immune system, but they can cause problems or even be life-threatening in someone with AIDS. The immune system of a person with AIDS has weakened to the point that medical intervention may be necessary to prevent or treat serious illness.
A blood test can determine if a person is infected with HIV, but if a person tests positive for HIV, it does not necessarily mean that the person has AIDS. A diagnosis of AIDS is made by a physician according to the CDC AIDS Case Definition. A person infected with HIV may receive an AIDS diagnosis after developing one of the CDC-defined AIDS indicator illnesses. A person with HIV can also receive an AIDS diagnosis on the basis of certain blood tests (CD4 counts) and may not have experienced any serious illnesses.
Last updated November 2006
A total of 39.5 million people now live with HIV/AIDS
2.2 million of them are under the age of 15
In 2006, an estimated 4.3 million people were infected with HIV
530,000 were under the age of 15
Every day 12,000 people contract HIV – 500 every hour.
In
2006, 2.9 million people died from AIDS
380,000 of them were under the age of 15. That's one child dying per minute.
15 million children around the world have been orphaned by AIDS, losing one or both parents to the disease.
The Regional Picture
Africa
More than 60% of all people living with HIV, 24.7 million, live in Sub-Saharan
Africa. In 2006, an estimated 2.8 million people in the region became newly
infected. An estimated 2.1 million adults and children died of AIDS.
Asia
In Asia, 960,000 people became newly infected in 2006, bringing the total number
of people living with HIV/AIDS there to 8.6 million people. AIDS claimed
approximately 630,000 lives in Asia in 2006.
Caribbean
An estimated 27,000 people became infected with HIV in 2006 in the Caribbean.
An estimated 19,000 people died of AIDS in 2006 in the Caribbean, making it one
of the leading causes of death among adults (15-44 years).
Latin America
HIV epidemics in this region overall remain stable, with new HIV infections
totaling about 140,000 and 65,000 people dying of AIDS in 2006.
The Middle East and
North Africa
Except for Sudan, national HIV prevalence levels are low in all countries of
this region. Approximately 460,000 people are living with HIV in this region,
and an estimated 68,000 people became newly infected in 2006. An estimated 36,000
adults and children in 2005 died of AIDS-related conditions.
Eastern Europe and
Central Asia
The steepest increases in HIV are occurring in this region, where 1.7 million
people were living with HIV in 2006. This figure represents a twentyfold increase
in HIV infection in less than ten years. AIDS claimed 84,000 lives in Eastern
Europe and Central Asia in 2006. Some 270,000 people were newly infected with
HIV in the past year, and almost one third of them were people aged 15-24.
Western and Central Europe
In these regions, the total number of people living with HIV continues to
increase, in great part due to the life-prolonging effect of antiretroviral
therapy and an increase in the number of new HIV diagnoses in Western Europe
since 2002. Some 740,000 people were living with HIV in Western and Central
Europe in 2006. The rate of new HIV diagnoses nearly doubled during 1998 and
2005 in Western Europe.