In 2007 an estimated 33.2 million people worldwide were living with HIV infection. Since the beginning of the epidemic in 1981, an estimated 25 million people have died worldwide due to AIDS. In 2007 alone, AIDS claimed the lives of approximately 2.1 million people, or over 5,700 people per day.
The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform has created weekly factsheets on domestic and global HIV/AIDS. Titled "HIV/AIDS Today," these factsheets will summarize information about the current state of the epidemic, its causes, responses across various sectors, and ongoing research and policy questions. Information is a powerful tool in the fight against HIV/AIDS, and Chairman Waxman hopes these factsheets will be useful in that fight.
Tuberculosis is the second greatest infectious disease killer of youth and adults in the world, killing nearly 5,000 people a day. This week’s HIV/AIDS Today examines the transmission, prevention, and treatment of tuberculosis and discusses the relationship between TB and HIV.
This week’s edition of HIV/AIDS Today describes research into microbicides, a potential tool for primary prevention of sexual transmission of HIV.
Vaccines have proven highly effective in controlling many infectious diseases, but to date there is no vaccine for HIV. This week’s HIV/AIDS Today factsheet focuses on efforts to develop an HIV vaccine.
Administered shortly after exposure to HIV, post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) antiretroviral drugs can help reduce the risk of HIV infection. This week’s HIV/AIDS Today summarizes the clinical recommendations and research on HIV post-exposure prophylaxis.
This week’s HIV/AIDS Today factsheet focuses on male circumcision, a practice that studies have shown to be effective in reducing a man’s risk of contracting HIV infection by more than 50%.
This week’s HIV/AIDS Today factsheet discusses the role of drug adherence and drug resistance for individual patients and the epidemic overall.
This week’s edition of HIV/AIDS Today reviews the impact of the epidemic in Eastern Europe and Central Asia.
This week’s edition of HIV/AIDS Today reviews the state of India’s epidemic.
This week’s edition of HIV/AIDS Today reviews the impact of the epidemic in Southeast Asia.
The Caribbean is second only to Sub-Saharan Africa in the percentage of the population living with HIV/AIDS. Today’s HIV/AIDS factsheet discusses the transmission, prevention, care, and treatment of HIV/AIDS in the Caribbean.
In many developing countries, malnourishment is both a cause and an effect of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. This week’s factsheet explores the link between HIV/AIDS and nutrition.
As HIV/AIDS progresses, it weakens the host immune system, leaving the body vulnerable to “opportunistic infections.” This week’s factsheet reviews common opportunistic infections and measures to reduce their incidence.
This week’s HIV/AIDS Today will focus on children who are orphaned or otherwise made vulnerable by the AIDS epidemic.
Mother-to-child transmission of HIV is the most significant source of HIV infection in young children. This week’s edition of HIV/AIDS Today reviews this mode of transmission and current recommendations on reducing the risk.
Women are differently, and often disproportionately, affected by the HIV/AIDS epidemic. This week’s edition of HIV/AIDS Today examines the factors that contribute to this pattern.
More than two thirds of all people with HIV live in sub-Saharan Africa. This week’s factsheet details the scope and impact of the epidemic in the region.
The development of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) has helped transform HIV/AIDS from a death sentence to a chronic yet manageable disease for most individuals. While highly effective at improving the chance of survival and the quality of life, HAART does not eliminate the virus from the body, and must be taken indefinitely. Today’s HIV/AIDS factsheet addresses the science behind HAART and various aspects of the treatment.
The technology available to detect HIV infection has evolved since the beginning of the epidemic. This week’s factsheet provides an overview of HIV testing techniques available today.
This week’s edition of HIV/AIDS Today reviews the routes by which HIV is transmitted.
This week’s factsheet discusses the United States response to the global HIV/AIDS epidemic.
In 1983, scientists discovered the virus that causes AIDS: the Human Immunodeficiency Virus, or HIV. This edition of HIV/AIDS Today discusses how HIV affects the immune system and how untreated HIV infection progresses to AIDS.
On June 5, 1981, the first cases of AIDS were reported by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. By 1985, at least one AIDS case had been reported from each region of the world, and by 2007, over 58 million people worldwide had been infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. This week’s factsheet provides an overview of the global epidemic today.
Click here to learn about the Committee's investigations into issues involving HIV/AIDS.