Glossary
HIV
HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) is a virus that attacks the immune system and, without treatment, can progress to AIDS, but effective medication now lets people with HIV live long, healthy lives.
HIV, the human immunodeficiency virus, attacks the immune system's CD4 cells, gradually weakening the body's ability to fight infection. Left untreated it can progress to AIDS, its most advanced stage. HIV passes through blood, certain sexual fluids, and breast milk, and it is not spread by casual contact like hugging or sharing dishes. Modern antiretroviral therapy lets people with HIV live long, healthy lives and reach an undetectable viral load. When someone stays undetectable, they cannot transmit HIV to sexual partners, a fact summarized as Undetectable equals Untransmittable, or U=U, and endorsed by the CDC. HIV affects people of every orientation, though it has deeply shaped LGBTQ+ history, activism, and community care since the 1980s.
Learn more: www.cdc.gov/hiv/basics/whatishiv.html
Image credit: Wikimedia Commons / NIH