–– Paul Schlehlein

The audio version of this article is available here: YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.

AIDS stands for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome and is a disease that destroys the body’s immune system, greatly lowering its resistance to infection. This disease is caused by the Human Immunodeficiency Virus, also known as HIV, which is transferred in blood and sexual fluids. 

While there are treatments to slow the damage of AIDS, currently there is no known cure. 

According to one dictionary, the disease “first spread among gay men, intravenous drug users, and recipients of infected blood transfusions, before reaching a wider population. This tended to overshadow a greater epidemic in parts of Africa, where the transmission is mainly through heterosexual contact.”