(High-Risk Pregnancy). There is no doubt that AIDS is a world wide problem, which is why it has been referred to as a pandemic. It is estimated that in the time that this disease has been recorded millions of people have died ( HIV / AIDS). There are ongoing efforts to find scientific means of combating this disease. For example in 1983 the first blood test to detect exposure to HIV was developed by Dr. Luc Montagnier and Robert Gallo (HIV / AIDS). At present there is no vaccine for the virus and no known cure. Nevertheless, science has made considerable advances and various combinations of drugs have been developed and used which successfully retards the progress of the disease and improves the life quality of the patients. These include protease inhibitors, which are "…effective in interfering with reproduction of the virus and limiting the "viral load" or quantity of virus in an infected person's body" ( HIV / AIDS).

One of the problems with aids is that it is a relatively new virus, which makes it difficult to combat in terms of the data and information and data about it ( Confronting AIDS: Directions for Public Health, Health Care, and Research p .85). Another issue that inhibits attempts to find a cure for the disease is that it is socially shunned in many countries and has a social stigma attached to it. This also makes reportage of the disease extremely difficult and problematic, as many people with HIV do not report the fact. This also retards data collection and scientific analysis in the hope of finding a solution to the disease (Confronting AIDS: Directions for Public Health, Health Care, and Research p .96).

This in turn has motivated many countries to promote large-scale public education programs in the attempt to educate people about the disease and to remove...

This is especially the case in African countries and a certain amount of success in the reduction of the incidence of aids has been reported in countries like Nigeria. There is a growing consensus that public education about the way that HIV is transmitted are vital in the battle against this deadly disease.
Contemporary research however has made headway in the fight against HIV / AIDS. Scientists have been able to make progress in terms of the understanding of the genetic structure and transmission of the disease -- but not enough is yet known about how the virus initiates and maintains the infection in the body (Confronting AIDS: Directions for Public Health, Health Care, and Research p .177). Much more in-depth research into this disease and the way that it negatively affects the human immune system will therefore be necessary in order to bring this disease under control.