What Is AIDS?<br > IT IS WELL TO REMEMBER that AIDS is actually the final stage，<br > the most severe end stage， of infection with what we know as<br > the AIDS virus. AIDS is also generally accepted as a syndrome，<br > a collection of specific， life-threatening opportunistic infections<br > and symptoms that is the result of an underlying immune de-<br > ficiency -- a deficiency not caused by any known conditions and<br > illnesses other than infection with the AIDS virus.<br > The acquired immune deficiency itself -- the "AID" part of<br > AIDS -- does not kill. It destroys the body s capacity to ward<br > off bacteria and viruses that would ordinarily be fought off by<br > a properly functioning immune system， and it is the diseases，<br > the opportunistic infections， caused by these outside agents that<br >eventually kill the victim; or， death results from a form of can-<br >cer， Kap0si s sarcoma， that is far more aggressive in AIDS<br >patients than among those who do not suffer from AIDS. Thus，<br >one can say that AIDS killed the person， since the addition of<br >the "S" defines a syndrome: the collection of diseases and symp-<br >toms that resulted from the weakened immune system. Putting<br >it another way， one can say that the AIDS virus itself does not<br >kill， nor does it generally cause the various diseases associated<br >with the syndrome; most of the disastrous events are simply the<br >result of the damage to the immune system. Nor does infection<br >with the virus mean that a person has AIDS at that moment.<br >It means that the virus has gained entry into that person s body，<br >and that there is a 20- to 50-percent chance -- some say close<br ><br >