Today is World AIDS Day, a day devoted to increasing the public’s awareness about acquired immune deficiency syndrome. AIDS is referred to as a “syndrome” because it is not a disease; it is a collection of diseases - possibly as many as 25. People with AIDS are thought to be infected with a virus known as the human immunodeficiency virus, which attacks the immune system to the point where it can no longer fight other infections. Interestingly, in the past several years, a growing number of scientists have been questioning the belief that HIV is the underlying cause of AIDS. Until a cure or vaccine is found, doctors say, education about its transmission is the only way to protect a person from AIDS.

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