of their highly visible nature, external lesions are sometimes the presenting symptom of aids. kaposi sarcoma entered the awareness of the general public with the release of the film philadelphia, in which the main character was fired after his employers found out he was hiv-positive due to visible lesions. by the time ks lesions appear, likely, the immune system has already been severely weakened. it has been reported that only 6% of men who have sex with men are aware that ks is caused by a virus different from hiv. thus, there is little community effort to prevent kshv infection. likewise, no systematic screening of organ donations is in place. in people with aids, kaposi sarcoma is considered an opportunistic infection, a disease that can gain a foothold in the body because the immune system has been weakened. with the rise of hiv/aids in africa, where kshv is widespread, ks has become the most frequently reported cancer in some countries.