Every first day in December is World AIDS Day. This date was set by World Health Organization(WHO) in order to raise people’s awareness of AIDS.
AIDS is a potentially dangerous infectious disease caused by the HIV virus (HIV). HIV is a virus that attacks the body's immune system. By attacking the body's immune system, the most important CD4T lymphocytes, body loses its immune function. Therefore, if one is infected with HIV, their body is susceptible to various diseases and can develop malignant tumors with a high case fatality rate.
Although the treatment of AIDS is gradually increasing with the development of science, AIDS still brings indelible damage to people on Earth every year.
As the pictures above, the number of people who die each year from AIDS has been at a high level. In the 20th century, the number of deaths from AIDS is on the rise. Although the death rate has slowed down, by 2014, more than 1 million people worldwide still die of AIDS.
In the same time, there are over tens of millions of children who became orphan because their parents die from AIDS.
Even in 2017, there are still many people who misunderstand about HIV/AIDS
After UN investigation, people's understanding of AIDS is far from enough.
As shown in the table above, less than 35% of pwople in those AIDS-contributing countries in the world have a correct understanding of AIDS.
People's misunderstanding about AIDS mainly focuses on the following aspects:
1. The HIV virus is transmitted predominantly by blood and semen and may also be transmitted through vaginal secretions, breast milk and any body fluids that may contain blood. Other body fluids (such as saliva), if not mixed with blood, theoretically do not contain the HIV virus.
2. Many people mistakenly believe that homosexual are more susceptible to HIV infection. The main HIV transmission route in the world is spread through sexual contact. About 70% -80% of the infected people in the world are infected with HIV through sexual contact. Among them, heterosexual transmission of sexual contact accounts for more than 70%, while gay sexual contact transmission accounted for 5% to 10%.
3. Many people mistakenly believe that there is no cure for HIV infection.
4.Mistakenly believe that HIV-infected persons can not marry and have children. Infected person who take medicine can live a normal life.
5. Mistakenly believe that one who infected AIDS virus will die soon. If not treated in time, the average survival of patients infected with HIV virus is about 9 to 11 years.
AIDS is not terrible, with the development of medicine, AIDS will eventually become one of the common diseases. Facing AIDS, we should, on the basis of a correct understanding of it, break discrimination and allow AIDS patients to enjoy normal social life as well.