AIDS

AIDS was first identified in 1981 among homosexual men and drug users in New York and California. Shortly after its detection in the United States, evidence of AIDS epidemics grew among heterosexual men, women, and children in Africa. AIDS quickly developed into a worldwide epidemic, affecting virtually every nation. By 2000 an estimated 34.7 million adults and 1.4 million children worldwide were living with HIV infection or AIDS. The World Health Organization, a specialized agency of the United Nations, …

…medical procedures. As a result of these regulations, HIV transmission caused by contaminated blood transfusion or organ donations is rare in North America. However, the problem continues to concern health officials in Africa. Less than half of the 46 nations in this region have blood-screening policies. By some estimates only 25 percent of blood transfusions are screened for the presence of HIV. WHO hopes to establish blood safety programs in more than 80 percent of African countries by 2003.