Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS)

Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) disease is the pathogen that causes AIDS and encompasses all the condition抯 stages, from infection to the deterioration of the immune system and the onset of opportunistic diseases. However, AIDS is still the name that most people use to refer to the immune deficiency caused by HIV. An AIDS diagnosis (indicating that the person has reached the late stages of the disease) is given to people with HIV who have counts below 200 CD4+ cells/mm3 (also known as T cells or T4 cells, which are the main target of HIV) or when they become diagnosed with at least one of a set of opportunistic diseases. All 50 States and the District of Columbia report AIDS cases to CDC using a uniform surveillance case definition and case report form. The case reporting definitions were expanded in 1985 (MMWR 1985; 34:373�; 1987 (MMWR 1987; 36(No. SS-1):1S�S); 1993 for adults and adolescents (MMWR 1992; 41(no. RR-17): 1�); and 1994 for pediatric cases (MMWR 1994; 43(no. RR-12):1�). The revisions incorporated a broader range of AIDS-indicator diseases and conditions and used HIV diagnostic tests to improve the sensitivity and specificity of the definition. The 1993 expansion of the case definition caused a temporary distortion of AIDS incidence trends. In 1995, new treatments (protease inhibitors) for HIV and AIDS were approved. These therapies have prevented or delayed the onset of AIDS and premature death among many HIV-infected persons, which should be considered when interpreting trend data. AIDS surveillance data are published semiannually by CDC in the HIV/AIDS Surveillance Report.

SOURCE: Health, United States

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Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)

This page last reviewed January 11, 2007