health sectionhealth sectionThe Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that over 1.1 million Americans had the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) as of 2006. HIV is a virus that affects the immune system, hampering your ability to fight off infections that often leads to the development of the often fatal AIDS virus. There are no cures for HIV and AIDS; however, several prescription antiretroviral drugs are available to decrease the spread of HIV throughout the body. While these drugs extend lives, they also carry risks for side effects, the seriousness of which vary between the types of antiretroviral drugs.
