Persons with HIV/AIDS

This monograph is a workbook that describes ways in which religious leaders can respond to HIV/AIDS epidemic. The monograph explains why religious leaders are uniquely suited to the task of speaking out in the fight to stop HIV/AIDS. It provides information on HIV/AIDS such as HIV transmission, how HIV/AIDS affects the body, how it affects children and young people, and HIV prevention. It contains suggestions and examples of activities and approaches that religious leaders can use to fight the HIV/AIDS epidemic and to serve and support those affected by it, particularly young people.

This report focuses on the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the US and the work of the CDC’s division of HIV/AIDS prevention. It provides a brief history of the accomplishments since 1981, discusses the current status of the epidemic in the US and how CDC is responding, using surveillance data reported to CDC from the 25 states with long-standing HIV reporting. It looks back on the successes of HIV/AIDS prevention and presents future plans.

This pamphlet discusses HIV testing for newborn infants. It explains that the state of New York requires all babies to be tested. The pamphlet also explains when the mother will receive the results of the test, how a baby can get HIV, the meaning of a positive test for a baby, what happens for a mother who has HIV, and for a baby who has HIV. The pamphlet emphasizes that the results of the baby’s HIV test are confidential and that doctors can only share that information with others who are providing health care.

This report describes the HIV epidemic in Puerto Rico in 2006. The Puerto Rico Department of Health and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) analyzed data on diagnoses of HIV infection, including infections that occurred in 2006 and in previous years, and used a stratified extrapolation approach developed by CDC to generate HIV incidence estimates. Results indicate that in 2006, an estimated 1,440 individuals aged 13 years or older were newly infected with HIV.

This information sheet points out that the fungus Cryptococcus is the most common cause of meningitis in sub-Saharan Africa, and is a leading cause of death among people with HIV. Although it is not possible to prevent the initial infection with Cryptococcus, screening for cryptococcal antigen can detect disease before meningitis develops so treatment can begin and prevent death. A rapid, point-of-care dipstick test is now available for use in screening.