Hiv-Aids
...of this epidemic. There have been more than 900,000 reported cases of AIDS in the United States since 1981 and as many as 950,000 Americans may be infected with HIV, a quarter of whom are unaware of it. In 2004, the total estimated number death caused by AIDS was 15,798. The death toll among adults and adolescents was 15,731 and 61 for children under the age of 13, according to a March 2005 report out of the Centre for Disease Control (CDC). The cumulative estimated number of deaths by AIDS in the year 2004 was 529,113 (523,598 adults and adolescents and 5,515 children under age 13 (CDC, 2005). At the end of 2003, an estimated 1,039,000 to 1,185,000 persons in the United States were living with HIV-AIDS, according to the CDC, and it affects nearly seven times more African -Americans and three times more Hispanics than whites. These numbers are certainly terrifying and this epidemic is reportedly growing among the minority population. It is the fifth leading cause of death in people between the ages of 25 to 44. In recent years, an increasing number of African- American women and children are being affected by HIV/AIDS. In 2003, two-thirds of U.S. AIDS cases in both women and children were among African-Americans (CDC, 2005).
HIV- AIDS has hit home. I have gruesome memories of an aunt and two cousins, who dwindled away after being infected with this disease. It is time for us to stop thinking that this disease affects only a certain race, age group or that it's simply not our problem. HIV-AIDS has no face, color, race or religion. It's not something we go looking to buy. It can infect anyone, and the reality is that it can even infect or affect you and me. HIV-AIDS affects us all worldwide and we all need to know what this disease is, how and when it came into existence, the signs & symptoms and how we can all work together to prevent a further spread of...
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