How's HIV passed on?
HIV is a virus that damages a person's immune system, the body's defence against disease. A person infected with HIV is infected for life - there's no cure. Being infected with HIV is often referred to as being HIV-positive.
Over time, as the immune system weakens, a person with HIV may develop rare infections or cancers. When these are particularly serious, the person is said to have AIDS.
HIV can only be passed on through the transfer of blood, semen, vaginal fluids and breast milk. The two main ways in which a person can become infected are:
- vaginal or anal sexual intercourse (without a condom) with an infected person
- using a needle or syringe that's already been used by someone who's infected
An infected pregnant woman can also pass the virus to her unborn baby, before or during the birth.
Other potential routes of transmission include:
- Giving and receiving first aid, although transmission will only occur if significant amounts of HIV-infected blood pass from one person to another.
- Contact with used needles and syringes.
- Giving and receiving oral sex, although there are very few proven instances of this. Generally, transmission will only occur if a person has cuts or sores in their mouth.
- Seeing a dentist, doctor or nurse. It's extremely rare for HIV to be passed from a healthcare professional to a patient, as all medical instruments are sterilised or used only once.
- Fighting and biting. There have been extremely few cases of infection in such cases.
- Kissing, although generally this won't pass on HIV as saliva doesn't contain a high enough concentration of HIV. The only risk would be if both people had noticeably bleeding cuts and sores in their mouths.
- Sport. The only risk in sport is if HIV-infected blood gets into a wound or a cut.
It's important to emphasise that even though the risk of transmission through any of the above is small, it still remains and care should always be taken.
HIV isn't passed on by:
- sharing crockery and cutlery
- touching, hugging or shaking hands
- using the same toilet
- insect or animal bites
Preventing HIV transmission
There are several ways in which you can prevent HIV being passed on:
- using a condom during sexual intercourse
- using a clean needle every time if you inject drugs
There are also a number of steps an HIV-positive woman can take to reduce the chance of passing on HIV to her child during pregnancy. These include:
- taking an anti-HIV drug towards the end of pregnancy and at the time of delivery
- considering having a caesarean section delivery
- giving the baby formula milk instead of breastfeeding
Who's at risk?
You're only at risk of HIV if you're involved in a high-risk activity. Particularly gay and African communities, there are a higher number of people who're HIV-positive.
Initial signs and symptoms
There are no immediate signs or symptoms after infection. Research has shown that after a few weeks some people experience flu-like symptoms, but these symptoms usually go undiagnosed. The only way to know if you are HIV-positive is to have a test.
Testing
The HIV test looks for HIV antibodies in the blood. It normally takes three months for antibodies to develop, so if you have a test soon after possible infection, the result may be inaccurate. You'll need to be tested again after three months to get a definite result.
The test is available from your GP or from any genitourinary medicine (GUM) clinic. GUM clinics are usually found within a hospital and are completely confidential - your GP won't be informed without your consent. You can also go anonymously. A trained counsellor will explain the test procedure and discuss possible results. You normally have to wait one week for a result.
Treatment
There's no cure for HIV, but there are a number of drugs that can help prevent someone who's HIV-positive becoming ill.
Treatment consists of taking several drugs every day, which is known as combination therapy. These drugs aren't a cure for HIV infection but they can increase enormously the life expectancy of someone with HIV. If the drugs aren't taken correctly, the treatment will stop being so effective and the person may become ill.
Research continues around the world to develop a HIV vaccine. Great progress is being made, although it's likely to be a number of years before such a treatment is widely available.
HIV and AIDS News:
D.C. Health Dept. Pushes Female Condoms In HIV Outreach Initiative - The Washington, D.C., health department has launched a campaign to promote use of the female condom as a way to help curb the spread of HIV in the city, the AP/Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. A 2009 study found that about 3% of the city's population over age 12 is HIV-positive...
Also In Global Health News: House Passes Bill Including Haiti Relief; Kenya Adopts Safer ARVs; Florida At Risk Of Dengue Outbreak; Merck, More - House Passes War Supplemental Spending Bill; Includes Fund For Haiti The House on Tuesday passed a $59 billion war supplemental spending bill by a vote of 308-114, which will now be sent to President Barack Obama "for his signature," CongressDaily reports (Sanchez, 7/28). The bill includes "$2...
Chimerix's CMX157 Shows Potential To Treat Multi-Drug-Resistant HIV And Improve The Activity And Toxicity Profile Of Tenofovir - Chimerix, Inc...
News From The American Journal Of Pathology - Transforming Growth Factor-βa (TGF-β1) Contributes to Kidney Disease Dr...
Peer-Reviewed Journal Publishes Findings By Viral Genetics' Lead Scientist - Research co-authored by Viral Genetics, Inc., (Pink Sheets: VRAL) lead scientist Dr. M. Karen Newell has been published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Leukocyte Biology (JLB). Newell's article identifies a potential mechanism that promotes chronic inflammation, a characteristic of most autoimmune diseases. Viral Genetics has been pursing treatments for Lyme Disease and HIV/AIDS...
Results From Two Multi-Site Collaborative Studies Highlight The Value Of 454 Sequencing Systems For Genotyping Applications - 454 Life Sciences, a Roche Company (SWX:RO)(SWX:ROG)(Pink Sheets: RHHBY), has announced promising new results from a multi-site collaborative research study which used the company's Genome Sequencer FLX System to perform HIV drug-resistant mutation detection...
Abbott's Enhanced ARCHITECTPLUS Systems Helps Labs Manage Surging Testing Demand Due To Aging Population - As hospital and clinical laboratories endure increasingly intense pressures to do more with less, they now face another challenge - rising demand for medical tests driven by an aging U.S. population that is expected to swell to more than 70 million in the next 20 years, an increase of more than 80 percent from today...
Preventing Mother-To-Child Transmission Of HIV Is Critical To Achieving Millennium Development Goals In Africa - Investing in the health of women and children was the focus of the high-level Summit of the African Union held 25-27 July in Kampala, Uganda. The meeting, attended by more than 35 Heads of State and politicians, highlighted progress and challenges in advancing Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 4 and 5, which call for reducing child mortality and improving maternal health...
Richard Graham, MP For Gloucester, To Visit Terrence Higgins Trust's Centre For People Living With HIV In Gloucester, UK - Richard Graham, Conservative MP for Gloucester, will be visiting HIV and sexual health charity Terrence Higgins Trust (THT) on Friday 30 July at 11.00am. The centre provides a dedicated range of sexual health services, including one-hour HIV testing, one to one counselling, and support groups for people living with HIV...
New York Times Examines Questions Left Unanswered By Microbicide Trial - The New York Times examines a set of questions raised by news out of the International AIDS Conference-AIDS 2010 last week that a microbicide gel containing the antiretroviral (ARV) tenofovir used by women before and after sex helped reduce their risk of HIV infection by 39 percent. "After more than a dozen microbicide failures, [the news of the trial] was a huge relief ...
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