Editing Misconceptions about HIV/AIDS (section)

====HIV is not the cause of AIDS because some people have symptoms associated with AIDS but are not infected with HIV====
Most AIDS symptoms result from the development of [[opportunistic infection]]s and [[cancer]]s associated with severe [[immunosuppression]] secondary to HIV.{{cn|date=January 2021}}

However, immunosuppression has many other potential causes. Individuals who take [[glucocorticoid]]s or immunosuppressive drugs to prevent [[organ transplant|transplant]] rejection or to treat [[autoimmune disease]]s can have increased susceptibility to unusual infections, as do individuals with certain [[genetics|genetic]] conditions, severe [[malnutrition]] and certain kinds of cancers. There is no evidence suggesting that the numbers of such cases have risen, while abundant [[epidemiologic]] evidence shows a very large rise in cases of immunosuppression among individuals who share one characteristic: HIV infection.<ref name="NIAID, 1995"/><ref name="UNAIDS, 2000"/>