| Health care interventions
Though health care intervention can't eliminate HIV, it may make a positive difference in your lifespan. Treating the disease early may delay the onset of AIDS, and can help prevent infections that pose a major threat to your health.
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| HIV testing
An HIV test is used to learn if you've been infected with the human immunodeficiency (ih-mue-no-duh-FISH-en-see) virus, the virus that leads to AIDS. The most frequently-used HIV test is called ELISA (e-LIZE-uh), which looks for antibodies in your blood.
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| Pediatric AIDS
Most children with AIDS contracted the disease from an HIV-positive mother. Generally, the baby is infected during pregnancy or birth, although breast-feeding can also transmit H-I-V, the virus that causes AIDS.
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| Prevention and education
Education and prevention are the keys to fighting AIDS, as the disease currently has no cure. The more you know about how HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, is spread, the more steps you can take to protect yourself.
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| Primary medical care
If you have HIV or AIDS, it's important to receive early medical care from a doctor with experience in this field. Knowledge of AIDS and how to best treat the disease is constantly evolving, so the doctor you choose should be aware of all the latest research.
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| Safer sex methods
There are many steps you can take to have safer sex, to protect yourself from catching or spreading HIV, the virus that leads to AIDS. HIV can be spread whenever infected blood, semen, or vaginal fluids enter another person's body.
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| What is AIDS?
AIDS, or Acquired Immunodeficiency (ih-MYOO-noe-duh-fish-en-see) Syndrome, is the end stage of infection from the virus known as HIV. You can be HIV-positive for many years before developing AIDS, and show few or no symptoms, yet be able to infect others.
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