Across the world, innocent children are dying from human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Although it is more commonly called a sexually transmitted disease, HIV can also be passed from mother to child. HIV is a virus that attacks T or CD4 lymphocytes, which are white blood cells needed by the body to fight infections and disease (Piot and Quinn). HIV uses these cells to make copies of itself and then destroys them. Over time, HIV attacks so many T cells that the body no longer has the ability to fight infections and disease. This can lead to AIDS, which is the last stage of HIV. An example of an illness developed in HIV-positive people is Pneumocystis jiroveci pneumonia (PCP), which is a fungal infection of the lungs. Symptoms include a dry cough, fever, rapid breathing and shortness of breath. Other effects of the disease include frequent colds, ear infections, stomach aches and chronic diarrhea. HIV and AIDS began to appear in the United States in the late 1970s. No one in government or the medical profession had any idea how this disease would change the lives and life expectancy of thousands of people across the country. Sexual lifestyles have completely changed in the United States because of the AIDS epidemic. People can no longer have multiple intimate relationships before marriage without fear of contracting this potentially deadly virus (Kübler-Ross 29). In the 1980s, HIV and AIDS were considered “gay diseases,” meaning they could only be contracted by gay men. This view was proven wrong when children were born with the disease because their mothers contracted it. Mother-to-child transmission of HIV occurs when an HIV-infected woman passes the virus to her baby...... middle of paper .. ....-aids/living-with-hiv-aids/parenting -a-child-with-hiv.html>.Piot, Peter, MD, Ph.D., and Thomas C. Quinn, MD “Response to the AIDS Pandemic – A Model for Global Health.” The New England Journal of Medicine. June 6, 2013. March 18, 2014. “Pregnancy and childbirth.” AIDS.gov. January 25, 2012. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. March 18, 2014. .Ryan, Benjamin. “The vaginal ring prevents HIV and pregnancy.” POZ. March 2014. March 18, 2014. “Two children diagnosed at birth tested HIV negative after very early treatment. »Betablog.org. March 5, 2014. San Francisco AIDS Foundation. March 18 2014..