HIV/AIDS Facts

Here in Philly…

• There are over 30,000 people in the Philadelphia Region living with HIV disease.

In the United States…

• 1 in 4 new HIV infections is among youth 13-24
• Every 9½ minutes, someone is infected with HIV.
• 1 in 6 people with HIV does not know it.
• There are approximately 1.2 million people living with HIV disease.
• Since the first AIDS case was diagnosed in 1981, over 600,000 Americans have died of AIDS, more than all the U.S. combat deaths since the beginning of World War I.
• Nearly half of the people infected with HIV in the U.S. are not receiving medical care.

Worldwide

• There is no vaccine to stop the spread of AIDS.
• Although new medical treatments have helped many people living with HIV/AIDS to live longer lives, there is no cure.
• 25 million people have died of HIV-related causes since the beginning of the epidemic
• There are over 33 million people living with HIV/AIDS
• In 2008, there were 2.7 million new infections and 2 million AIDS-related deaths.

For more information and further statistics on specific population groups, visit The Center for Disease Control and Prevention at www.cdc.gov/hiv and UN AIDS, The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS at www.unaids.org. 

About HIV/AIDS

There Is No Cure.

HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) is a virus that attacks and breaks down a person’s immune system.  When our immune systems become compromised, we lose our ability to fight off illness and infection.

AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) is the name of the life-threatening disease that people with the HIV have if they develop one of the infections connected with HIV, or if blood tests show that their immune system has been badly damaged by the virus.

HIV can be transmitted from person to person when certain body fluids (blood, semen, vaginal fluids, or breast milk) from an infected person pass into another’s body.  There are three main ways that this can be done:

• by having unprotected sex
• by sharing needles
• from mother to child at birth or through breastfeeding

HIV is absolutely not transmitted through casual contact.  It is safe to hold hands, kiss, and work with someone who has HIV or AIDS.  Since HIV cannot live outside the human body, you cannot be infected from toilet seats, phones, or water fountains.  The virus cannot be transmitted through the air by sneezing or coughing.

Although there have been many recent advances in HIV/AIDS treatment and medication since the 1980s, there is still no cure.  If you need more information about how the virus is transmitted, existing treatments, free testing, or other services available in the Philadelphia region for people affected by or living with HIV, please call 1-800-985-AIDS.