I'm writing this test on December 1st, 2006, as part of an observation of world AIDS day. This is the 19th time it has been observed, though Acquired ImmunoDeficiency Syndrome was first recognized in 1981, 25 years ago.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 1-1.2 million people in the US have Human Immunodeficiency Virus, the virus that is almost universally understood to cause AIDS.
I say "almost universally" for two reasons:
First, there are many people in the world who have been misled as to the nature of the disease.
Second, as with any scientific finding, we must always be vigilant to remembering that this is the best current understanding and not absolute truth.