The Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is spread through contaminated blood, unprotected sex, and from mother to child during pregnancy, delivery, or breastfeeding. Healthy skin and other bodily fluids like saliva and tears do not transmit HIV.
Six to 10 years after contamination and without treatment, HIV infection leads to AIDS and death by general failure of the immune system. Since antiretroviral therapy treatment became widely available in the late 90s, HIV has become a chronic infection. People on treatment do not die from AIDS anymore and are able to live with the virus for the rest of their lives. However, there is still no vaccine against the virus available today.
Since 1981, the HIV epidemic killed 36 million people around the world. In 2016, the total number of infected people stood at 36 million people, while 1.2 million died and 1.8 million were newly infected.
Despite these terrible numbers, there is hope for the near future. The end of HIV epidemic is possible to happen within the next few decades.
In 2011, Scientists from Switzerland showed that persons living with HIV who were taking effective antiretroviral therapy were not contagious for their sexual partner.