Lupus is a long-term autoimmune disease in which the body's immune system becomes hyperactive and attacks normal, healthy tissue. Symptoms include inflammation, swelling, and damage to the joints, skin, kidneys, blood, heart, and lungs.Due to its complex nature, people sometimes call lupus the "disease of 1,000 faces."In the United States, people report around 16,000 new cases of lupus each year, and up to 1.5 million people may be living with the condition, according to the Lupus Foundation of America.The Foundation say that lupus affects women in particular, and it is most likely to appear between the ages of 15 and 44 years.Lupus gained public attention in 2015 after the singer Selena Gomez announced she received a diagnosis in her late teens and underwent treatment for the condition.Lupus is not a contagious disease. A person cannot transmit it sexually or in any other way to another person.However, in rare cases, women with lupus may give birth to children who develop a form of lupus. This is called neonatal lupus.