- `HIV is considered a chronic but manageable disease with proper treatment.
`Children who receive treatment are expected to live a normal lifespan.
- `HIV has never been transmitted in normal family living conditions.
- `You NEVER have to fear contracting HIV through casual contact with an HIV+ person.
- `HIV is spread in three main ways: sexual contact, IV drug use through the sharing of dirty needles, mother to infant (pregnancy, birth or breast feeding.)
- `All around the world orphans are overlooked for adoption because of their HIV+ status.
- `Medications called ARVs can mean the difference between life and death.
- `The combination of three or more ARVs is called HAART. (Highly Active Anti-Retroviral Therapy)
- `With medications HIV can be effectively managed to the point that the virus is undetectable in laboratory tests.
- `There is a term for the miraculous transformation HIV+ people undergo when they begin receiving the medications they need. The Lazarus Effect is a term commonly used to describe people who were once on the brink of death who have been restored again to health through medication.
For more information on World AIDS Day: http://www.worldaidsday.org/
For more information on HIV+ Adoption: http://www.projecthopeful.org/
For photo listings of HIV+ Orphans: http://reecesrainbow.org/category/waitingchildren/hiv-0-5