How common is it?

Millions of people around the world die of Aids-related illnesses every year:

In Africa more people die from Aids than any other disease - 25m people there have the HIV virus.

Eastern Europe - especially Russia - has the fastest-growing HIV epidemic in the world.

New cases of HIV are at an all-time high in the UK, with 3,435 new cases found in 2000.

It is thought that by the end of 2001 around the world 2.7m children under the age of 15 will have Aids.