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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