摘要
在1981年，获得性免疫缺陷综合症（AIDS，又称艾滋病）作为一种新型疾病首次被报道；1984年，人们终于查明引起这种疾病的病毒是人类免疫缺陷病毒（HIV）；从此，艾滋病（AIDS）就被确定成为威胁世界健康的主要疾病。全世界感染HIV病毒的患者预计有4．000万人，其中儿童患者超过200万，在许多国家，艾滋病（AIDS）引发了严重的经济困难。去年，仅撒哈拉沙漠以南的中部非洲地区死于艾滋病（AIDS）的人就有240万，而死于疟疾的人也只不过100万。
Since acquired immune deficiency syndrome （AIDS） was first reported as a new disease in 1981 and the human immunodeficiency virus （HIV） responsible was identified in 1984, the disease has become a major world health problem. With an estimated 40 million people infected worldwide, including more than two million children, AIDS causes severe economic difficulties in some countries. In sub-Saharan Africa there were 2.4 million deaths last year from AIDS, compared with around one million from malaria.
