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AIDS

 

AIDS – acquired immune deficiency syndrome – was first reported in the United States in 1981 and has since become a major worldwide epidemic.

AIDS is caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). By killing or impairing cells of the immune system, HIV progressively destroys the body's ability to fight infections and certain cancers. Individuals diagnosed with AIDS are susceptible to life-threatening diseases which are caused by microbes that usually do not cause illness in healthy people.

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Last Modified on : March 29, 2000