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1995-2012 The Nemours Foundation (n.d.). HIV and AIDS. // Kids Health //. Retrieved August 14, 2012, from http://kidshealth.org/teen/sexual_health/stds/std_hiv.html

Facts: 1.HIV destroys a type of defense cell in the body called a CD4 helper lymphocyte 2.Thousands of U.S. teens and young adults get infected with HIV each year. 3.People who have another sexually transmitted disease (STD) (such as syphilis, genital herpes, chlamydia, gonorrhea, or bacterial vaginosis) are at greater risk for getting HIV during sex with infected partners. 4.The immune defect caused by having too few CD4 cells also permits some cancers that are stimulated by viral illness to occur — some people with AIDS get forms of lymphoma and a rare tumor of blood vessels in the skin called Kaposi's sarcoma. 5.Severe symptoms of HIV infection and AIDS may not appear for as long as 10 years (or more for some people). 6.It is still possible to infect others with HIV, even if the person with the virus has absolutely no symptoms. 7.Combinations of antiviral drugs and drugs that boost the immune system have allowed many people with HIV to resist infections, stay healthy, and prolong their lives, but these medications are not a cure. 8.The virus then infects the cells and uses them as a place to multiply. 9.Because AIDS is fatal, it's important that doctors detect HIV infection as early as possible so a person can take medication to delay the onset of AIDS. 10. When a person's immune system is overwhelmed by AIDS, he or she might notice:
 * extreme weakness or fatigue
 * rapid weight loss
 * frequent fevers that last for several weeks with no explanation
 * heavy sweating at night
 * swollen lymph glands
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">minor infections that cause skin rashes and mouth, genital, and anal sores
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">white spots in the mouth or throat
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">chronic diarrhea
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">a cough that won't go away
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">trouble remembering things
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">in girls, severe vaginal yeast infections that don't respond to usual treatment

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">11.HIV can be transmitted from an infected person to another person through blood, semen (also known as "cum," the fluid released from the penis when a male ejaculates), vaginal fluids, and breast milk. <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">12.If a woman with HIV is pregnant, her newborn baby can catch the virus from her before birth, during the birthing process, or from breastfeeding. <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">13.Because their immune systems are weakened, people who have AIDS are unable to fight off many infections <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">14.Severe symptoms of HIV infection and AIDS may not appear for as long as 10 years (or more for some people). <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">15.Doctors diagnose someone with AIDS when that person's blood lacks the number of CD4 cells required to fight infections. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 1em; vertical-align: baseline;">