HIV/AIDSHistoryThe human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) targets the immune system and weakens people's defense systems against infections and certain types of cancer. As the virus destroys and impairs the function of immune cells, infected individuals gradually become immunocompromised. Immune function is usually measured by CD4 cell count. Immunodeficiency causes increased susceptibility to a wide range of infections and diseases that people with healthy immune systems can fight off. The most advanced stage of HIV infection is acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), which can take 2 to 15 years to develop depending on the individual. AIDS is defined by the development of certain cancers, infections or other serious clinical manifestations. Disease Transmission HIV can be transmitted through the exchange of various bodily fluids from infected individuals, such as blood, breast milk, semen, and vaginal secretions. Individuals cannot become infected through ordinary everyday contact, such as kissing, hugging, shaking hands, or sharing personal items, food, or water. The spread of HIV from person to person is called HIV transmission. HIV transmission is possible at any stage of HIV infection, even if an HIV-infected person does not have any symptoms of HIV. Transmission of HIV from an HIV-infected woman to her child during pregnancy, childbirth, or breastfeeding is called mother-to-child transmission of HIV. In the United States, HIV is spread primarily through sex or sharing injection drug equipment with an HIV-infected person. To reduce your risk of HIV infection, use condoms correctly and consistently during sex, limit your number of sexual partners, and never share injection drug equipment. Mother-to-child transmission... middle of paper ...... living with HIV, just as is the case for the general population. Only a mental health care provider can accurately diagnose and treat depression. Peter Vanable, professor and chair of psychology at Syracuse University, has conducted extensive research on the behavioral aspects of HIV and coping. He analyzed, for example, how HIV stigma affects mental health and medication adherence. “A significant subset of HIV-positive men and women experience social rejection from family, significant others [and] partners, and these experiences of discrimination and rejection can really manifest in difficult ways.” , explains Vanable. How people react to being diagnosed with HIV, he continues, can shape a patient's long-term psychological response. “Experiences of social rejection and internalized feelings of self-rejection tend to go hand in hand,” says Vanable..