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indeed be melting at a significantly faster rate than previously believed.'*° Scientists have confirmed that the Larsen Ice Shelf, an 8,000-square-mile portion of ice in Antarctica, is breaking up, possibly due to global warming. While a complete breakup of this ice shelf will not be disastrous, it could be a sign of an even more ominous possibility. Keep in mind, however, that the entire idea of "global warming" has become suspect to many scientists. diseases worldwide. In the 1980s the "plague of the century" the HIV (AIDS) virus was discovered—a virus which destroys the immune system of its victims, a virus for which there is no cure. According to experts: "By mid-1996, cumulative HIV/AIDS-associated deaths worldwide numbered approximately 4.5 million among adults and 1.3 million among children. In 1995 alone, HIV/AIDS-associated illnesses caused the deaths of approximately 1.3 million people worldwide, including an estimated 300,000 children younger than 5 years of age. By the year 2000, an estimated 5 to 10 mil-lion children under 10 years of age will be orphaned worldwide because of the premature death of HIV-infected parents. '* cumulative deaths worldwide In northern and central Africa entire nations are on the verge of being wiped out by this virus. According to statistics from the World Health Organization (WHO), at the end of 1994, 17 million adults were living with HIV infection. The majority (66%) of these infections were in sub-Saharan Africa (11.2 million)! In Botswana nearly one out of five people (18.02%) is infected with the HIV virus. 22.6 million 3.1 million 1.5 million 29.4 million 8.4 million 6.4 million While educational efforts among high-risk populations has slowed the pace of infection, the HIV virus continues to infect thousands of additional victims each day in the United States alone. Worldwide, more than 8,000 new HIV infections occur daily. "As of 15 December 1995, 1,291,810 cumulative AIDS cases in adults and children have been reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) 99 PESTILENCE ON THE RISE In the last two decades there has been a dramatic increase in the number of infectious HIV/AIDS-associated END 1996 GLOBAL ESTIMATES Persons living with HIV/AIDS New HIV infections in 1996 Deaths due to HIV/AIDS in 1996 Cumulative number of HIV infections Cumulative number of AIDS cases Cumulative number of deaths due to HIVIAIDS (FROM THE JOINT UNITED NATIONS PROGRAMME ON HIV/AIDS) What is even more staggering are the rates of growth of this pandemic: