HIV is one of the most recognizable disease in the world. The name itself is enough to elicit fear into people who hear about it. HIV stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus and it is classified as a sexually transmitted disease that spreads from one partner to another. It is mainly transferred through unprotected sex but it can also happen through needle sharing or by someone’s blood that is unaffected blood coming into contact with someone’s blood that is. The main way to diagnose the disease is by taking a ELISA test at a clinic that tests for STDs or by taking a Home Test that can be bought over the counter. The initial symptoms that occur happen within days to weeks of the initial exposure to the virus. Many patients complain about headaches, having fevers and complaining about being really tired all the time. Other initial symptoms include swollen lymph nodes, diarrhea and weight loss. After the initial exposure and symptoms the virus goes into a latent phase that can last from months to many years. During this time the virus multiplies and kills healthy immune cells, called T4 cells, which weakens the immune system’s ability to protect against other diseases, such as bacterial infections and even the common cold. This is what kills individuals that have HIV, not the virus itself but by other diseases entering the body and the body not being able to protect itself against them. There is no permanent cure for HIV. But the main way that was developed to survive this disease is by taking a three drug regimen of Antiretrovirals. Taking a sinle drug will not be effective in curing the disease and from preventing it from harming you. But by taking 3 different drugs your body can protect itself from harm and making sure that the amount of virus that is in your system stay low. By taking three drugs, it helps prevent viral resistance. This happens when the virus replicates itself and it mutates. When it mutates the drugs that you are taking might not work against the mutations, but the three drugs will ensure that the virus’s mutations will be affected as well. But the best way to cure the disease is by preventing it. Safe sex is probably the best way to make sure you do not get the disease. HIV is preventative in the communities. Individuals who are tested for HIV and participate in protected sex are at a lower risk of contracting the disease. In the era of increasingly effective treatments for HIV, people with HIV are living longer, healthier, and more productive lives. Deaths from HIV infection have greatly declined in the United States since the 1990s. As the number of people living with HIV grows, it will be more important than ever to increase national HIV prevention and health care programs. Community programs, centers, and clinics, should promote the preventative measures regarding HIV. The demographics for the disease include there being 35 million people in the world that are living with HIV as estimated in 2013. Approximately 1.5 million people died due to this disease during that year as well. CDC estimates that 1,201,100 persons aged 13 years and older are living with HIV infection, including 168,300 (14%) who are unaware of their infection1. Over the past decade, the number of people living with HIV has increased, while the annual number of new HIV infections has remained relatively stable. Still, the pace of new infections continues at far too high a level particularly among certain groups. The initial mortality rate in the 70’s was at 75% but due to many preventive measures and their being new methods to help fight the disease that number has dropped significantly. Now the rate is 1.25 per 100 persons, making it an extremely low number. In terms racial groups that are predominantly affected, African Americans and blacks in general are the group that is hit the hardest by this disease. Blacks