1. HIV&Aids Felisha, Nadia, Amy..

2. What is it? Aids: a serious (often fatal) disease of the immune system transmitted through blood products especially by sexual contact or contaminated needles. HIV: HIV stands for human immunodeficiency virus. It is the virus that causes AIDS. It is passed from one person to the other through infected blood and body fluids.

3. Origin of the disease The first recognised cases of AIDS occurred in the USA in the early 1980s. A number of gay men in New York and California suddenly began to develop rare opportunistic infections and cancers that seemed stubbornly resistant to any treatment. At this time, AIDS did not yet have a name, but it quickly became obvious that all the men were suffering from a common syndrome. However now it is believed to have evolved with us from the monkey/caveman era.

4. How is it spread? The most common known way to spread the disease is through unprotected sexual contact of ANY kind. However there are some others. These are: Kissing (Sharing bodily fluids) Sharing Needles Coming into direct contact with infected blood Even a pregnant mother can pass on to her baby or when the baby is born, pass it on through breast feeding!

5. How does this affect our everyday lives? Damages our T-cell making the immune system not able to work properly. This could result in: tuberculosis pneumocystis carinii pneumonia infections of the surface covering of the brain meningitis lymphoma rare tumor of blood vessels in the skin called kaposi'ssarcom

6. Statistics of the UK Around 86,500 people were living with HIV in the UK at the end of 2009. A quarter were unaware of their infection. In 2009, there were 6,630 new diagnoses of HIV, meaning a total of 111,922 cases reported by the end of June 2010. As of June 2010, there have been 26,262 diagnoses of AIDS in the UK, and 19,457 people diagnosed with HIV have died.

7. Statistics around the world The number of people living with HIV rose from around 8 million in 1990 to 33 million by the end of 2009. The overall growth of the epidemic has stabilised in recent years. The annual number of new HIV infections has steadily declined and due to the significant increase in people receiving antiretroviral therapy, the number of AIDS-related deaths has also declined.

8. Two inspiring stories Brenda Chambers -- a mother of four, recovering crystal meth addict and sexual abuse survivor -- did not allow her 2003 HIV diagnosis to stop her from living. In fact, she used it as a means to stop using drugs, regain custody of her children and become an AIDS activist. Teniecka trusted her boyfriend. But she was betrayed and found out that not only was he married, but he had HIV. "Since testing positive for HIV, I look at the world from a very new perspective. Life is a precious treasure and if taken lightly can be gone in moments.

9. Prevention! Get examined by the doctor immediately if you have doubts Wear condoms at all times (If your gonna sleep around, don’t be unprotected!) Don’t share needles If you have aids/HIV don’t be ashamed, warn your partner Take the medication to help your immune system get stronger Be cautious when dealing with a HIV/Aids person if they bleed, wear gloves etc.