AIDS or Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome or Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome is defined as a collection of symptoms and infections resulting from the depletion of the immune system caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus, commonly called HIV.

The symptoms of AIDS are primarily the result of conditions that do not normally develop in individuals with healthy immune systems. Most of these conditions are opportunistic infections that can be easily treated in healthy people.

Stage I: HIV disease is asymptomatic and not categorized as AIDS

Stage II: include minor mucocutaneous manifestations and recurrent upper respiratory tract infections

Stage III: includes unexplained chronic diarrhea for longer than a month, severe bacterial infections and pulmonary tuberculosis or

Stage IV includes toxoplasmosis of the brain, candidiasis of the esophagus, trachea, bronchi or lungs and Kaposi's sarcoma; these diseases are used as indicators of AIDS.

Since the beginning of the epidemic, three main transmission routes of HIV have been identified, namely, sexual, blood to blood product and mother to child.

There is currently no cure or vaccine for HIV or AIDS. Infection with HIV leads to AIDS and ultimately death. However, in western countries, most patients survive many years following diagnosis because of the availability of the highly active antiretoviral therapy HAART. In the absence of HAART, progression from HIV infection to AIDS occurs at a median of between nine to ten years and the median survival time after developing AIDS is only 9.2 months. HAART dramatically increases the time from diagnosis to death and research continues in drug treatments and vaccine development.

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