ORIGIN OF AIDS

Did you know that the HIV virus originated in wild chimpanzees? (or so the government would like us to believe. I, among others, feel that it was a man made disease & that they have a cure. blah)

But just to entertain the thought, after years of collecting wild apes' feces, scientists have discovered that it did indeed come from them. "The first human known to be infected with HIV was a man from Kinshasa in the nearby country of Congo who had his blood stored in 1959 as part of a medical study, decades before scientists knew the AIDS virus existed."

Presumably, someone from Cameroon was bitten by a chimp or cut while butchering one and got infected. All the while, people traveled along the Sanaga River transporting hardwood, ivory and etc. to urban areas & eventually someone infected made it to Kinshasa & it got worse from there.

In 2005 the United States' AIDS cases totaled 943,525 with 761,723 cases in males/ 181,802 cases in females, and 9,101 cases estimated in children under age 13. (The difference between HIV & AIDS is that HIV is the virus that causes AIDS. AIDS is the last stage of the infection.)

A little closer to home, here are the top 10 states in the U.S. with the highest number of AIDS cases through 2005: New York, California, Florida, Texas, New Jersey, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Maryland & Puerto Rico. Georgia's number 8, great...

Not to be parental cuz I'm sure you guys are being safe out there *stares* but make sure you get tested at least once a year for HIV/AIDS cuz sometimes there are no symptoms. Please please do cuz I care about ya even though I never met most of you. I really do :-)

On a slightly different yet similar note, here's a list that I found interesting & think you should check out: THE TOP 10 MYSTERIOUS DISEASES They include creepy-crawly skin & odd fibrous strands coming from open wounds, an insatiable urge to eat non-food substances like dirt, paper, glue & clay, and flu viruses carried by birds. Check it out, maybe you might have it (just kidding! lol)

Have a blessed & exciting weekend everybody!
~ Akanke

* Note: the AIDS statistics came from the CDC website.