BEIJING, July 18 (Xinhua) -- The 18th International AIDS Conference will take place in Vienna, Austria, on July 18-23. About 25,000 delegates from around the world will discuss the current situation of AIDS as well as preventive measures to fight the pandemic.
Following is some basic knowledge on AIDS and the current situation of this disease in the world:
AIDS, or acquired immune deficiency syndrome, is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). This condition progressively reduces the effectiveness of the immune system and leaves individuals susceptible to opportunistic infections and tumors.
HIV is transmitted through direct contact of a mucous membrane or the bloodstream with a bodily fluid containing HIV, such as blood, semen, vaginal fluid, preseminal fluid and breast milk.
This transmission can involve sex, blood transfusion, contaminated hypodermic needles, exchange between mother and baby during pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding or other exposure to one of the above bodily fluids. The average delitescence of HIV virus in the human body is 12 to 13 years.
