HIV & AIDS

What is HIV?

H – Human – this virus can only infect human beings.

I – Immunodeficiency – the effect of the virus to create a deficiency, a failure to work properly, within the body's immune system.

V – Virus – this organism is a virus, which means one of its characteristics is that it is incapable of reproducing by itself. It reproduces by taking over the machinery of the human cell.

HIV is the virus that causes AIDS. Like other viruses, HIV attacks cells in the body. But what makes HIV different is that the immune system can never fully get rid of HIV because the virus attacks the immune system itself--the very mechanism that would normally get rid of a virus.

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What is AIDS?

The term AIDS applies to the most advanced stages of HIV infection.

A – Acquired – a condition one must acquire or get infected with, not something transmitted through the genes.

I – Immune – it affects the body's immune system, the part of the body which usually works to fight off germs such as bacteria and viruses.

D – Deficiency – it makes the immune system deficient ( the immune system may not function properly).

S – Syndrome – someone with AIDS may experience a wide range of different diseases and opportunistic infections.

AIDS severely weakens the body's ability to fight infections and certain cancers. People diagnosed with AIDS may have opportunistic infections, which are caused by microbes such as viruses or bacteria that usually do not make healthy people sick.

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How is HIV transmitted?

HIV can be transmitted from an infected person to another through:

  • Blood (including menstrual blood)
  • Semen
  • Vaginal secretions
  • Breast milk

Blood contains the highest concentration of the virus, followed by semen, followed by vaginal fluids, followed by breast milk.

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Activities That Allow HIV Transmission

  • Unprotected sexual contact
  • Direct blood contact, particularly through sharing injection drug needles.
  • Mother to baby (before or during birth, or through breast milk)

Sexual intercourse (vaginal and anal): In the genitals and the rectum, HIV may infect the mucous membranes directly or enter through cuts and sores caused during intercourse (many of which would be unnoticed). Anal and vaginal intercourse are high-risk practices.

Oral sex (mouth-penis, mouth-vagina): The mouth is an inhospitable environment for HIV (in semen, vaginal fluid or blood), meaning the risk of HIV transmission through the throat, gums, and oral membranes is lower than through vaginal or anal membranes. We can't say that getting HIV-infected semen, vaginal fluid or blood in the mouth is without risk. However, oral sex is considered a low risk practice.

Sharing injection needles: An injection needle can pass blood directly from one person's bloodstream to another. It is a very efficient way to transmit a blood-borne virus. Sharing needles is considered a high-risk practice.

Mother to Child: Mother to child transmission is now rare in the US because pregnant women who are HIV-positive are normally given medications to prevent the fetus from getting infected. However, it is possible for an HIV-infected mother to pass the virus directly before or during birth, or through breast milk. Breast milk contains HIV, and while small amounts of breast milk do not pose significant threat of infection to adults, it is a viable means of transmission to infants.

The following "bodily fluids" are NOT infectious:

  • Saliva
  • Tears
  • Sweat
  • Feces
  • Urine
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What are the symptoms of HIV?

Primary HIV infection is the first stage of HIV disease, when the virus first establishes itself in the body. Some researchers use the term acute HIV infection to describe the period of time between when a person is first infected with HIV and when antibodies against the virus are produced by the body (usually 6- 12 weeks).

Some people newly infected with HIV will experience some "flu-like" symptoms. These symptoms, which usually last no more than a few days, might include fevers, chills, night sweats and rashes (not cold-like symptoms). Many other people either do not experience acute symptoms, or have symptoms so mild that they may not notice them.

Given the general character of the symptoms of acute infection, they can easily have causes other than HIV, such as a flu infection. For example, if you had some risk for HIV a few days ago and are now experiencing flu-like symptoms, it might be possible that HIV is responsible for the symptoms, but it is also possible that you have some other viral infection.

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What are the symptoms for AIDS?

The immune system of a person with AIDS is threatened to the point that medical intervention may be necessary to prevent or treat serious illness.
The AIDS definition developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) includes the following conditions:

  • A person must be HIV positive, AND
  • Have a CD4 (T-cell) count below 200 OR one or more opportunistic infections.

A positive HIV test result does not mean that a person has AIDS. A diagnosis of AIDS is made by a physician using the above clinical criteria.

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