Doctors and scientists became aware of HIV/AIDS in the early 1980s, and have been working hard to find a cure ever since.

They know how the HIV virus is transmitted and how a person can get HIV/AIDS.

They found medicine that helps people with HIV/AIDS lead healthier longer lives, but they haven?t found a cure yet.

That?s why it is important to prevent this disease from spreading and infecting more people.

Scientists, doctors, nurses, teachers and other educators have been working hard to explain to people?adults and children alike?how to protect themselves and how to avoid getting HIV/AIDS.

Getting AIDS is not like catching a cold. The HIV virus cannot get from one person to another by talking or being in the same room or on the bus. The virus travels through bood and other body fluids. In everyday life it is very hard for the HIV virus to get from an infected person to a healthy person, but there are a few important instances when this can happen. For example, during sexual intercourse or when drug users who inject drugs share their needles.

In the early 1980s, before doctors understood how the HIV/AIDS virus was transmitted, many people got infected in hospitals during blood transfusions. This doesn?t happen anymore because doctors and hospitals are careful to use blood that has been checked. They also make sure all their equipment is sterilized.

But although experts know how the HIV/AIDS virus travels, for many people in many societies it is difficult to talk about HIV/AIDS because this means talking about drugs and sex. These two topics are considered taboo in many cultures.

"Cultures are sensitive to talk about issues that relate to sexuality and drug use. But this is a matter of life and death. We cannot let cultural taboos stop us from talking about it," said Dr. Mamphela Ramphele, World Bank Managing Director, an anthropologist and a physician from South Africa.

"It is important that young people understand the nature of this disease, how it spreads and how they can protect themselves. Knowledge is the first base from which one can protect oneself," Dr. Ramphele said.

Learning about this disease, and sharing that knowledge with your friends is the way to beat HIV/AIDS.

Many kids around the world are already doing the same. There are many organizations that help children and youth learn about HIV/AIDS and talk about it.

Transmit: To send from one person to another. To transmit an infection: to cause to spread; pass on.

Transfusion: To transfer blood from one individual to another.

Sterilized: To make something as clean as possible, free from live bacteria or other microorganisms.

Taboo: A topic that a society doesn?t want to discuss because it goes against their cultural and societal norms.

Anthropologist: A person who studies the origin, the behavior, and the physical, social, and cultural development of humans.