AIDS: definition and guidelines for the health professional.

AIDS is a lethal infectious disease that must certainly be dealt with carefully, but through conscientious application of well-established procedures and techniques, health care professionals may provide the best possible care to the patients suffering the ravages of this disease without undue risk to themselves or their loved ones. There is no reason to believe that caring for the AIDS patient is any more dangerous than caring for a patient with any infectious disease; by utilizing already established safety precautions, we can deal with this situation efficiently and confidently.