Differences between HIV and AIDS

Ever since its discovery in 1981, HIV/AIDS has killed almost 25 million people (as of 2008) but most people are still confused and do not have a proper understanding of the difference between the two. HIV is acronym for Human Immunodeficiency Virus. It is a lentivirus, a genus of slow viruses of the Retroviridae family, generally known as a retrovirus.  A retrovirus is an RNA virus that replicates in the host cell and elicits reverse transcription in RNA strands of a normally functioning cell. This basically violates the “central dogma of biology.” Transmission of...

National HIV Testing Day – June 27

Sunday, June 27 is National HIV Testing Day, and a great opportunity for communities all over the United States to get together and normalize HIV testing. There will be free testing available in many communities this weekend, and we also wanted to make it easier for those that prefer at home testing to test themselves. So we have lowered the prices on our Express (now $54.95) and Standard kits (now $44.95) and are for a limited time offering free First Class Mail shipping with the purchase of a home HIV test. All you have to do is enter the coupon hivday in the coupon...

More Adults Have HIV in Washington, D.C....

Although we sometimes think of HIV/AIDS as a global problem, it’s important to shine a light back on how it affects us at home. The New England Journal of Medicine recently revealed that 1 in 30 adults in Washington, D.C. are infected with HIV – a greater prevalence than the rates in Ethiopia, Rwanda, or Nigeria. What is the solution to this dilemma? According to Brad Ogilvie of the Mosaic Initiative, the answer is to get tested. In an article by Jennifer Grant in the Chicago Tribune, Ogilvie describes the mission and strategy of his organization.  Their...

7 Things You Should Do To Protect Agains...

AIDS or Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, as we all know today is caused by HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus). The moment one is infected with HIV the human body starts to fight the infection by producing specific antibodies. The HIV/AIDS tests that are performed in laboratories or the home HIV test looks for these antibodies to detect the presence of HIV in the system. While not everyone who is infected with HIV may start to show any symptoms, it is a known fact that the HIV/AIDS virus tires and weakens the immune system over time. Other viruses, fungi and bacteria...

A History of the HIV Epidemic

HIV is a recent discovery and not much is known about its history prior to 1980. If HIV infection and AIDS did exist then it was marked by silence because human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) was not known and infection did not manifest symptoms prominent enough to be noticed. Initial History of HIV What led to the discovery of HIV and consequently to AIDS was the sudden occurrence in 1981 of Kaposi’s Sarcoma, a rare and an indolent form of benign cancer usually associated with the elderly, in gay men in New York. At about the same time, in California, a sudden surge in...

5 Differences Between Anonymous and Conf...

Did you know that there is a difference between anonymous and confidential HIV testing?  There are actually a number of differences.  What we offer on our site is an anonymous home HIV test.  Read on to learn the differences between the two: 1.  Anonymous testing is not offered in every state. This is one of the reasons why the FDA Approved home HIV test is so important.  You simply cannot walk into a clinic and obtain an anonymous test in 11 states.  Your testing will still be accurate and confidential, but the anonymous testing option will not be available to you....