Publisher's Synopsis
Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection has become a worldwide public health problem, even to the point of being considered the pandemic of the late 20th century. From its discovery in 1984 to the present, there has been an alarming worldwide increase in the incidence and prevalence of this disease, which has led the international scientific community to work exhaustively on the prevention and treatment of HIV infection. UNAIDS estimated at the end of 2012 that approximately 34 million people were living with HIV worldwide, with sub-Saharan Africa, a region representing only 12% of the world's population, being the most affected region, constituting 68% of all HIV infections worldwide. In Latin America, there has been a steady decline in new HIV infections since 1996 and stabilized in the new millennium to the present day, with approximately 100,000 per year.
