r
e
s
o
u
r
c
e
s

Micro-organisms:

An Introduction

Micro-organisms:

Useful Microbes

Micro-organisms:

Harmful Microbes

Spread of Infection:

Hand Hygiene

Spread of Infection:

Respiratory Hygiene

Spread of Infection:

Food Hygiene

Spread of Infection:

Farm Hygiene

Prevention of Infection:

Immunity

Prevention of Infection:

Vaccinations

Prevention of Infection:

Oral Hygiene

Treatment of Infection:

Antibiotic Use and Medicine

Campaign timeline

Events timeline

January

Do you really know how many campaigns are available for different diseases in and around the United Kingdom?

Explore them for each month >>>

Cervical Cancer Prevention Week
21 ^nd - 27 ^th January 2019
February

Think about SEX day
14 ^th February
March

British Science Week
8 ^th - 17 ^th March 2019

World Oral Health Day
20 ^th March

World TB Day
24 ^th March
April

World Health Day
7 ^th April

World Malaria Day
25 ^th April

European Immunisation Week
24 ^th - 30 ^th April
May

Save Lives: Clean YOUR Hands campaign
5 ^th May
June

Food Safety Week
18 ^th - 24 ^th June
July

World Hepatitis Day
28 ^th July
August

Be Clear On Cancer - Lung Cancer Campaign
Ongoing
September

Sexual Health Week
9 ^th - 15 ^th September 2019

Meningitis Awareness Week
19 ^th - 25 ^th September

European Day of Languages
26 ^th September

World Rabies Day
28 ^th September
October

Global Handwashing Day
15 ^th October

World Polio Day
24 ^th October

International Infection Prevention Week
16 ^th-22 ^nd October
November

World Antibiotic Awareness Week (WAAW)
12 ^th-18^th November

European Antibiotic Awareness Day
18 ^th November

World Toilet Day
19 ^th November

Self Care Week 2016
14 ^th - 20 ^th November
December

World AIDs Day
1 ^st December

Cervical Cancer Prevention Week

Cervical cancer is the most common cancer in women under 35 with over 3000 being diagnosed with it in the UK every year. 99.7% of these cases are caused by the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), which can be transmitted by skin to skin contact in the genital area. There are over 100 types of HPV with around 13 of these potentially linked to causing cervical cancer. Within this high risk group 2 types; 16 and 18 are the most prevalent and cause around 70% of all cervical cancers. There are 2 vaccines that have been developed to provide protection against these types and one vaccine to provide protection against genital warts which are caused by low risk types of HPV.

HPV causes the cells lining the cervix to change and become abnormal. If these abnormalities become severe they can develop into cancer which is why HPV vaccination is important in helping to prevent cervical cancer.

What can you do to get involved?

Join Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust on their ‘Walk’s for Fun’ to raise awareness of cervical cancer.
Do you know someone that has been affected by cervical cancer? Why not get involved with some fundraising activities or join a local volunteering group.

Classroom Activities

Vaccinations are very important in the prevention of infectious diseases. Visit the e-Bug links to lesson plans to help educate your students on the importance of being vaccinated:

Junior Vaccination pack

Senior Vaccination pack

Links

http://www.jostrust.org.uk/get-involved/campaign/cervical-cancer-prevention-week

What is Think About Sex Day?

Organised by the Sexual Advice Association, Think About Sex Day (TASD) is designed to encourage everyone to think about the physical and psychological issues surrounding sexual activity. Encouraging people to think about sex is the first step towards ensuring the public’s sexual health and wellbeing.

Why is this day important?

In the UK we are notorious for our need for privacy and reserved attitude to sex. The Sexual Advice Association aim to change that and open up dialogue about sex in order to identify and help with some of the commonly occurring issues.

By openly discussing the topic of sexual health we might help our young people make informed choices regarding their own sexual health.

Classroom Lesson Plan

General Sexual Health lesson plan

Chlamydia Sexual Health lesson plan

Links

http://www.sda.uk.net/

What is British Science Week?

British Science Week is a ten-day celebration of science, technology, engineering and maths and helps to inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers with fun and participative events and activities. See more.

How can you be involved?

By using this week to promote science to your students you could be encouraging your students to look at microbiology and hygiene in a whole new light. Microbiology is full of invention and discovery, with many of the discoveries, like the discovery of antibiotics, being accidental and some discoveries not even made by scientists. Leeuwenhoek who discovered microbes, was actually a cloth merchant with an interesting hobby! Look at the student pages Hall of Fame to find out more.

e-Bug lessons

Run any of the e-Bug lessons for primary, secondary and young adults.
Get the whole school involved and run interactive microbiology activities in assemblies using the e-Bug assembly pack click here
Encourage students to play our microbiology games click here and quizzes at home or in school for a fun IT lesson

Classroom activities

Budding young engineers may want to try making their own home made working microscope Download
Why not have your class act out the role of Edward Jenner during his discovery of vaccinations View
Or ask your students to research and create a timeline of the most important microbiological and hygiene discoveries Download
Mathematically minded students may be interested in finding out what happened after the introduction of vaccines to Africa! Check out the alternative activities in this link.

Find us during British Science Week

Every year you will find us at the Big Bang Fair https://www.thebigbangfair.co.uk at the Birmingham NEC exhibiting hands on microbiology activities!

Links

https://www.britishscienceweek.org/

Hide this content.

World Oral Health Day

World oral health day is celebrated every year on the 20th March. It aims to celebrate the benefits of a healthy mouth, to promote worldwide awareness of the issues around oral health and the importance of looking after your mouth. It is a day to have fun and should be full of activities to make you smile! By taking action WOHD is committed to helping to reduce the global burden of oral disease. In 2019 the theme will be ‘Live Mouth Smart’. The campaign focuses on smart ways to maintain and protect oral health throughout life. See more.

Global Facts on Oral Health

Toothache is the number one reason for absenteeism from schools in many countries.
Only 60% of the world’s population enjoys access to oral health care.
60%-90% of school children worldwide have dental cavities.
Oral health has also a huge impact on general health and on other issues such as self-confidence, problems with social interactions and disrupts crucial functions like speaking and sleeping.
Children have 20 milk teeth and seniors should have 20 natural teeth at the end of their lives.
90% of the World’s Population will suffer from oral diseases in their lifetime.

How can you get involved?

Mention World Oral Health Day during assemblies and with students in lessons.
You could deliver the oral hygiene assembly activity from the e-Bug assembly pack (http://www.e-bug.eu/teacher_tools.aspx?cc=eng&ss=1&t=Teacher%20Tools) or do an oral hygiene lesson with junior students (http://www.e-bug.eu/junior_pack.aspx?cc=eng&ss=2&t=Oral%20hygiene)

Classroom Activities

Read about the Junior/Senior Cavity (Tooth Decay) disease fact file from the e-Bug website

Read about the Junior/Senior Sore Throat disease fact file from the e-Bug website

Link

Further information can be found at:

http://www.worldoralhealthday.com/about-wohd/

Hide this content.

World TB Day

Tuberculosis is a common, often lethal, infectious disease caused by the bacterium, Mycobacterium tuberculosis. It typical attacks the lungs and is spread when infected people cough or sneeze and infected droplets are inhaled by others. Symptoms include; chest pain with a chronic cough often producing blood speckled sputum. TB is the second most common cause of death from an infectious disease with 4000 people losing their lives to TB every day. These deaths could be prevented with a simple low cost vaccine, but the fight against TB is hugely underfunded. See more.

How can World TB Day help?

World TB Day is held on 24th March and aims to promote the severity of TB worldwide and to achieve the following;

Zero deaths from TB
Universal access to TB care
Faster treatment
A quick, cheap, low-tech test
An effective vaccine
A world free of TB

Visit www.MyStopTB.org to make a World TB Day poster with your own personal message!

What can you do?

Use the e-Bug lesson plans to help educate them about respiratory hygiene and preventing the spread of disease.

Junior School: Respiratory hygiene

Senior School: Respiratory hygiene

Hide this content.

World Health Day

World Health Day (WHD) is held every year on the 7th of April to mark the anniversary of the founding of the World Health Organisation. Each year WHD focuses on a priority public health issue. The theme for 2016 was ‘beat diabetes’. See more.

Why focus on diabetes?

Diabetes is a chronic, metabolic disease characterized by elevated levels of blood glucose which may over time lead to serious damage to the heart, blood vessels, eyes, kidneys, and nerves. The prevalence of diabetes has been steadily increasing in the past few decades, in particular in low- and middle-income countries. Knowledge exists to reverse this trend through targeted prevention and appropriate care.

Diabetes and its complications bring about substantial economic loss to people with diabetes and their families, and to health systems and national economies through direct medical costs and loss of work and wages.

World Health Day 2016 objectives

Increase awareness about the rise in diabetes, and its staggering burden and consequences, in particular in low-income and middle-income countries.
Trigger a set of specific, effective and affordable actions to tackle diabetes. These will include steps to prevent diabetes and diagnose, treat and care for people with diabetes.
Launch the first WHO Global report on diabetes, which will describe the burden and consequences of diabetes and advocate for stronger health systems to ensure improved surveillance, enhanced prevention and more effective management of diabetes.
Ensuring consumer trust in their authorities, and confidence in the safe food supply

How can you get involved?

Visit the WHO factsheet on diabetes to learn more.
Download the WHO posters to display in your school to raise awareness

For more information:

Visit the WHO campaign website http://www.who.int/campaigns/world-health-day/2015/event/en/

Hide this content.

World Malaria Day

Held on 25th April, World Malaria Day shines a light on the global effort to combat malaria. Despite global mortality rates decreasing by 26% since 2000, still one child dies every 60 seconds from malaria. See more.

What is malaria?

Malaria is a disease caused by the Plasmodium microorganism which is transmitted by the female Anopheles mosquito. The cycle begins with a bite from an infected mosquito which then introduces the organism into the blood. This then travels in the circulatory system to the liver where the parasite reproduces. Symptoms of malaria include a fever, headache and back pain but in severe cases can lead to a coma and death.

World Malaria Day is a time for:

The theme for 2016 was ‘end malaria for good’. Malaria-endemic countries have made amazing feats in reducing malaria in the last decade, but sustaining them will take extra efforts until the job is finished and malaria is eliminated worldwide.

Individuals to understand why malaria is a problem and to take action
Countries where malaria is a huge problem to assess their programmes and challenges in the control of malaria.

How can we help?

Visit http://www.againstmalaria.com/Default.aspx to donate a net.
Spread the word! Whether it’s via Facebook or Twitter, let everybody know about the global push to fight malaria.

Links

Please see the following link for further information about World Malaria Day:

http://www.worldmalariaday.org/

http://www.rollbackmalaria.org/

Hide this content.

What is European Immunisation Week?

European Immunisation Week is led by the World Health Organisation and aims to increase the awareness of the benefits of vaccination programmes and increase the uptake of vaccinations across Europe. European Immunisation week was celebrated for the 11th year on the 25-30th April 2016 in conjunction with other WHO regional initiatives and World Immunization Week. See more.

Why are vaccinations important?

Vaccination programmes over the past 30 years has led to remarkable achievements

The WHO European Region was certified polio free
Measles cases in the Region have been reduced by more than 90% in the past decade.

However, more needs to be done. Nearly 700 000 people in the European Region do not receive basic vaccination and vulnerable or hard-to-reach non-immunized groups exist in all countries.

Immunization saves millions of lives every year and this public health success story must be sustained. The slogan Prevent. Protect. Immunize. promotes the core message that immunizing every child is vital to prevent diseases and to protect life.

What can you do?

e-Bug has developed an interactive lesson plan for junior schools which allows students to learn about Jenner’s discovery of vaccines, and how they prevent rather than treat disease.

For senior schools, students undertake a simulation to show the spread of an outbreak and the effect of the introduction of a vaccine. The extension activity and an alternative activity look at vaccinations from a global perspective, and challenge students to consider vaccination coverage in other countries and the need for travel related vaccines.

For older students in KS4 and 5, use our young adult vaccination resources, including lesson plan, and animations to teach students about how vaccination works, or why not try out a debate in class regarding this hot topic with our debate kit.

Ask your students to create their own personalised vaccination timeline click here

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control have created a tool to explore immunisation schedules across Europe click here

Visit the student website to read fact files on infections commonly vaccinated against childhood click here

Play e-Bug online game Stop the Spread click here to see the effect vaccination has on reducing the spread of infections.

Links

European Immunisation Week (European WHO website): http://www.euro.who.int/en/health-topics/disease-prevention/vaccines-and-immunization/european-immunization-week

European Immunisation Week campaign site: http://eiw.euro.who.int/

Hide this content.

Save Lives Clean Your Hands Day

On 5th May it’s time to save lives and clean your hands!

This is a campaign not only for healthcare professionals but also for patients too. It focusses on the importance of hand hygiene and the awareness of healthcare associated infections.

It aims to identify the best ways to improve hand hygiene globally according to the local culture.

Classroom Activities

e-Bug have developed a series of lesson plans to help with the educating of students at both primary and secondary schools about the importance of having good hand hygiene. Follow the links below for more information:

Junior school: Hand hygiene pack

Senior school: Hand hygiene pack

Links

http://www.who.int/gpsc/5may/en/

What is food safety week?

This annual event, held to promote the importance of good food hygiene in the home, will focus on how people can ensure that they keep their food safe when trying to save money. See more.

Why is food safety important?

Food poisoning through undercooked and inappropriate storage of food affects thousands of people each year. Everyone is at risk of getting food poisoning. Young children, pregnant women and elderly people are most at risk of food poisoning due to reduced immune systems (especially if they get diarrhoea and lose too much body fluid ( dehydrate)).

What causes food poisoning?

Food poisoning is most often caused by bacteria such as salmonella and E.coli. Food that is left out of the refrigerator for too long is a real risk, especially meat (eg. raw or cooked meat), dairy products (eg. milk, cheese, yoghurt), egg products (eg. quiche) and some cereal-based products (eg. gravy, cooked rice, cooked pasta). Mould on food (eg. stale bread) and viruses (eg. hepatitis A) can also cause food poisoning.

Preventing food poisoning

The World Health Organisation (WHO) outlines Five Keys to Safe Food:

Keep clean—wash hands and work surfaces, and keep out flies and other pests
Separate raw and cooked food—when preparing or storing food
Cook thoroughly—make sure food is properly cooked especially meat, chicken, seafood, and eggs
Keep food at safe temperatures—either too hot or too cold for harmful bacteria to grow
Use safe water and raw materials.

Classroom activities

Junior Food hygiene pack

Links

Follow this link for information about last years campaign

http://www.food.gov.uk/news-updates/campaigns/campylobacter/fsw-2014/#.U5A19_ldVQ0

World Hepatitis Day

Hepatitis simply means inflammation of the liver and can occur as a result of a viral infection or because the liver is exposed to harmful substances such as alcohol. There are many types of hepatitis but types A, B and C are most common along with alcoholic hepatitis in developed countries. The Hepatitis B Virus is 50 to 100 times more infectious than the HIV virus, so it is therefore of utmost importance that the global population are aware of this.

The World Hepatitis Day campaign focusses on raising the awareness of the different forms of hepatitis; how they are transmitted and how they can be prevented. Despite their dramatic effect on health, the hepatitis viruses still remain largely undiagnosed and untreated.

Classroom activities

The hepatitis B virus can be transmitted by transfer of infected bodily fluids. Why not take a look at the e-Bug lesson plans for sexual health at:

www.e-bug.eu/senior_pack.aspx?cc=eng&ss=3&t=Senior Schools-Sexual Transmission

Links

www.who.int/csr/disease/hepatitis/world_hepatitis_day/en/index.html

Be Clear On Cancer - Lung Cancer Campaign

“If you’ve had a cough for 3 weeks or more, tell your doctor”.

This is the message from the department of health in an attempt to catch lung cancer before it’s too late.

Lung cancer is England’s biggest cancer killer claiming around 28,100 lives every year. If our five year survival rates matched the best in Europe it is estimated that around 1,300 deaths could be avoided every year.

80-90% of lung cancers are caused by long term exposure to tobacco smoke, although a small number of cases can result from exposure to second hand smoke or asbestos. The disease is characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in lung tissue.

For all people with lung cancer, the prognosis is generally poor, with only 15% surviving 5 years after diagnosis. This is why it is so important to see your doctor if you are exhibiting symptoms including; persistently coughing up blood, wheezing and clubbing of finger nails.

For more information on this campaign, visit:

http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/health-professional/early-diagnosis-activities/be-clear-on-cancer/lung-cancer-campaign/

Sexual Health Week

The FPA, is a sexual health charity. They now been informing the general public for over 80 years, helping people to make the right choices for them when it comes to sex and relationships. We can all feel embarrassed when it comes to talking about sex, but the FPA aims to get us feeling more confident when it comes to discussing it.

Why not use this week as a focus to the e-Bug sexual health lesson plan which can be downloaded from here

http://www.fpa.org.uk/campaigns/sexual-health-week

Hide this content.

To read more about last year’s campaign, visit: http://www.fpa.org.uk/sexual-health-week/pleasure-principle

Meningitis Awareness Week

What is meningitis?

Meningitis is a deadly disease that kills around 1000 people worldwide every day. When caused by bacteria it is usually more serious than other forms with most cases in the UK being caused by the group B meningococcal bacteria for which there is no vaccine. Meningitis is the inflammation of the protective covering around the brain and spinal cord which can lead to septicaemia; the blood poisoning form of the disease. See more.

Meningitis Awareness week is being held between 19th - 25th September this year to coincide with the increase in meningitis and septicaemia as we move into autumn and winter.

To get your free information pack visit: http://www.meningitis.org/b-aware http://www.meningitis.org/b-aware

Some forms of meningitis have an available effective vaccine with others available for travel abroad. Visit the e-Bug lesson plans for activities to educate about the importance of vaccinations.

Junior School: Vaccinations pack

Senior School: Vaccinations pack

Links

http://www.meningitis.org

Hide this content.

What is the European Day of Languages?

The Council of Europe first celebrated this day in 2001 and it has been growing every year to include more countries and more participants.

Why not use this day to encourage a cross curricular lesson plan and use our website to teach any of microbiology or hygiene in a different European language!

World Rabies Day

Rabies is a very serious viral infection which is almost always fatal unless treated very early. It’s a zoonotic infection which means it is passed from animals to humans, usually via dog bites. The symptoms in humans can include tingling at the site of the wound, fever and an irrational fear of water along with aggressive behaviour. Rabies in humans is 100% preventable provided immediate medical attention is given within 12 hours of infection. See more.

What is World Rabies Day all about?

The mission of World Rabies Day is to raise awareness about the impact of rabies in both animals and humans and how to prevent it. In the past World Rabies Day events have educated 182 million people and vaccinated 7.7 million animals worldwide.

What can you do?

Why not visit the e-bug Junior School pack for lesson plans to educate about hygiene with animals on the farm; Farm Hygiene

Links

www.worldrabiesday.org

Hide this content.

https://rabiesalliance.org/world-rabies-day/

What is Global Handwashing Day?

Annually October 15th marks a day where school children across the world unite and focus their attention on handwashing.

Children, who so often are energetic, enthusiastic and open to new ideas, can act as agents of change by taking the handwashing lessons learned at school back into their homes and communities. Global Handwashing Day aims to motivate children to embrace and share proper handwashing practices and to take on the role of handwashing ambassadors. See more.

Why is hand washing important?

Schools are a haven of harmful microbes that spread rapidly from child to child via touch. Colds and flu are the most common illnesses in the classroom and perhaps among the most contagious. Washing your hands is one of the best ways to STOP harmful microbes from spreading and prevent yourself becoming ill.

The simple act of washing hands with soap can significantly cut the risk of diarrhea (from 30% to 50%, Fewtrell et al., 2005) and that of respiratory tract infection (from 21% to 45%, Curtis and Cairncross, 2003)

What can you do?

The most basic thing anyone can do to help prevent the spread of infection is to wash their hands. We have prepared fun hand hygiene lesson plans for both junior and senior schools and fun interactive games and quizzes are available on the student pages of the website. Why not share your Global Hand Hygiene Day experience with us and send is pictures or videos of your hand hygiene day activities to e-bug@phe.gov.uk

For Junior Schools Junior hand hygiene lesson plan

For Senior Schools Senior hand hygiene lesson plan

Links

http://www.globalhandwashing.org/ghw-day

http://www.globalhandwashingday.org.uk/

Hide this content.

World Polio Day

Every year on 24th October the world focuses the attention on the importance of the global eradication of polio. Since the launch of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative in 1988, the global incidence of polio has decreased by 99% with the number of countries endemic with polio reduced from 125 to just 3, meaning that more than 10 million people are walking today that may otherwise have been paralysed. See more.

This is an incredible achievement, however, there is still a threat of on-going transmission in those three remaining countries of; Afghanistan, Pakistan and Nigeria.

This year the event will be a significant milestone as this will be the first year that India has been removed from the list of countries with active transmission.

Since World Polio Day last year, the number of new polio cases has decreased 467 this time last year to 171 this year.

What can you do?

e-Bug has created disease fact files for polio and other infectious diseases for both primary and secondary school students. Visit www.e-bug.eu and click on disease fact files.

To help educate against other harmful organisms and how to combat the spread of disease visit the lesson plans on the e-Bug website:

Junior schools: Harmful Microbes

Senior schools: Harmful Microbes

International Infection Prevention Week

The International Infection Prevention Week (IIPW), takes place on the third week of October each year and raises awareness of the role infection prevention plays to improve patient safety. See more.

IIPW is led by the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) to highlight the importance of infection prevention among healthcare professionals, administrators, legislators, and consumers.

Over the years, this week of recognition has vastly expanded to every corner of the globe, including Australia, the United Kingdom, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia. As the reach of IIPW widens, more patients benefit from safer healthcare practices and reduced threat of healthcare-associated infections.

This year the campaign will be held from 16-22nd October 2016. The 2016 theme is “Break the Chain of Infection.” See more

What can you do?

e-Bug have lesson plans for junior and senior students on ways to prevent the spread of infection, including hand hygiene and respiratory hygiene, and farm hygiene and oral hygiene (junior only).

Our senior hand hygiene lesson plan features ‘the chain of infection’, including a worksheet and powerpoint.

Hide this content.

World Antibiotic Awareness Week (WAAW)

Check out our dedicated World Antibiotic Awareness Week webpage to find out how you can get involved.

European Antibiotic Awareness Day

European Antibiotic Awareness Day is an annual campaign held on 18th November every year to raise awareness of prudent antibiotic use and the threat of antibiotic resistance. Antibiotic resistance is a growing problem worldwide with many causes, including; not completing the prescribed dosage and the unnecessary prescription of antibiotics for viral infections. See more.

What can you do?

Spread the word about EAAD and its importance with your family and friends.
Help advertise the campaign in newsletters, posters and on websites.

Teacher Competition

Visit the e-Bug teacher site to get involved with our competition to support EAAD. There are great prizes on offer for the winning teacher and their school! For more information visit: http://www.e-bug.eu/games_home.aspx?cc=eng&ss=1&t=e-Bug Games

Junior School: Antibiotic Use and Medicine

Senior School: Antibiotic Use and Medicine

Young adult students: Antibiotics

Links

http://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/eaad/Pages/Home.aspx

Hide this content.

World Toilet Day

Did you know?

HALF of all hospital beds in developing countries are filled with people suffering from diseases caused by dirty water and poor toilets. Diarrhoea is still the second biggest killer of children under five worldwide. See more.

What is World Toilet Day?

On World Toilet Day, try and imagine life without toilets and support the 1 in 3 women worldwide who live without sanitation. This day offers a unique opportunity to bring to light the terrible conditions 2.5 billion people across the world have to endure due to lack of toilet facilities. The charity Water Aid is heavily involved with the organisation of various events around the world to build new toilets in local areas and new methods to deal with human waste safely.

Classroom activities

Hand hygiene is highly important to prevent the spread of disease. Visit the e-Bug hand hygiene lesson plans for more information:

Junior School: Hand Hygiene

Senior School: Hand Hygiene

Links

http://worldtoiletday.org/?page_id=11

Hide this content.

World AIDS Day

HIV is a disease that attacks the body's immune system and affects the ability to fight infection and disease. AIDS develops when the immune system can no longer fight infections that can normally be combated.

There are several misconceptions that tend to surround HIV. For example that only gay men contract the disease. While more than 34,000 gay men live with HIV in Britain, many are heterosexuals - one third being women.

What about the myth that there are no symptoms of the disease? This is true for some people. But others may develop symptoms that include a rash, fever or a very sore throat.

HIV is a sexually transmitted disease but can also be passed on through sharing of equipment for injecting drugs. While there is no cure for the disease, treatments can help sufferers live active lifestyles, albeit with side effects.

World AIDS Day promotes safe sexual practices and discourages sharing injecting equipment for drugs. While spreading information about HIV and AIDS, events on 1 December are aimed at reducing stigma for those living with HIV.

I wear my red ribbon to symbolise my support for the pro-active attempts to tackle spread of the disease and contribute to reducing discrimination.

If you do one thing on World AIDS Day, learn the facts about HIV and AIDS, help educate friends and family and debunk the myths. With 80,000 people in the UK living with HIV every day, and discrimination the biggest problem among non-sufferers, more than ever it is vital that we raise awareness.

Links

http://www.worldaidsday.org/index.php