Over the past three decades, HIV/AIDS has become one of the most notorious and widespread diseases in the modern world. Its discovery in the late 1970s sparked worldwide concern. What has become most troublesome in the HIV/AIDS epidemic is prevention. Preventing or stopping disease transmission is hampered by factors such as: denial or non-acceptance on the part of infected people, unprotected sexual intercourse, and non-disclosure by infected people to their loved ones. s) sexual partner(s) at risk. According to Alghazo, Upton, and Cioe (2011): Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a precursor to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), is prevalent in the United States. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) for October 2008 estimated that 1,106,400 people residing in the United States and the District of Columbia were living with HIV. Among people living with the disease, almost one in five people (21%) did not know they had it. Additionally, healthcare workers and counselors have faced multiple consequences of this illness, including denial of illness and self-imposed isolation. When a person discovers they have the disease, it is up to them to disclose their positive status to their sexual partner. (s). It doesn't matter whether the person is married or having light sex, that person is the only one who has the right to disclose such information. One of the main arguments surrounding the HIV/AIDS dilemma centers on physician and patient confidentiality. Views on this issue are broad and strong and when challenged, they are met with a plethora of medical, ethical and legal arguments. By law, no one except that person is allowed to disclose their positive status. paper......idged. Retrieved April 19, 2011, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/ethicsEdwards, KA “Privacy.” Ethics in medicine. Washington University School of Medicine. 1998.Web. April 17, 2011. Mair, J. (June 2009). Duty of Confidentiality PD v. Harvey. Journal of Health Information Management. Excerpted from Murphy, TF (2009) When it comes to HIV infection, some are more equal than others. The Hastings Center Report. Retrieved from Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context.Principles (nd) Ethics In Computing. North Carolina State University. Retrieved from www.ethics.csc.ncsu.edu/basics/principles/study.phpUnderstanding AIDS & HIV. (nd). Understanding AIDS and HIV. Accessed March 19, 2011 from http://www.understanding-aids-hiv.com