How is HIV transmitted? Simply said, HIV is transmitted by contact with blood and through sexual contact. HIV transmission can occur when blood, semen, pre-seminal fluid, vaginal fluid, or breast milk from an HIV-positive person enters the body of an HIV- negative person. HIV can enter the body through a vein, the lining of the anus or rectum, the lining of the vagina and/or cervix, the opening to the penis, the mouth, other mucous membranes – such as the eyes or inside of the nose – or cuts and sores. Intact, healthy skin is an excellent barrier against HIV and other viruses and bacteria. Worldwide, the most common way that HIV is transmitted is through sexual transmission, including anal, vaginal or oral sex with an HIV-positive person. HIV also can be transmitted by sharing needles or injection equipment with an injection drug user who is HIV-positive, or from an HIV-positive woman to her infant before or during birth or through breastfeeding after birth. HIV also can be transmitted through receipt of infected blood or blood clotting factors. Which body fluids transmit HIV? Blood, semen, vaginal fluid, breast milk, and other body fluids containing blood taken from HIV-positive people can contain high concentrations of HIV. The virus also might be present in the fluid surrounding the brain and the spinal cord, fluid surrounding bone joints and fluid surrounding a fetus of an HIV-positive pregnant woman. HIV has been found in the saliva and tears of some HIV- positive people but in very low quantities. A small amount of HIV in a body fluid does not necessarily mean that HIV can be transmitted by that body fluid. HIV has not been recovered from the sweat of HIV-positive people. Contact with saliva, tears, or sweat has never been shown to result in HIV transmission. How is HIV not transmitted? HIV is not easily passed from one person to another. The virus does not survive well outside of the body. HIV cannot be transmitted through casual or everyday contact such as shaking hands or hugging. Sweat, tears, vomit, feces, and urine do contain small amounts of HIV, but they have not been reported to transmit the disease. Mosquitoes and other insects do not transmit HIV. How can HIV transmission be prevented? The best way to avoid HIV infection is to avoid behaviors that would involve exposure to infected body fluids, including unprotected sexual intercourse or sharing needles to inject drugs. If avoiding such behaviors is not possible, numerous health organizations have determined that the use of latex condoms during vaginal, anal or oral intercourse can significantly reduce the risk of HIV transmission; HIV- positive pregnant women can take medications that can reduce the risk of HIV transmission to her child; and injection drug users should not share needles or injection equipment.
Other symptoms that HIV-positive people might experience months to years before receiving an AIDS diagnosis include: ● Lack of energy. ● Weight loss. ● Frequent fevers and sweats (sometimes known as “night sweats”). ● Persistent or frequent yeast infections (oral or vaginal). ● Persistent skin rashes or flaky skin. ● Pelvic inflammatory disease in women that does not respond to treatment. ● Short-term memory loss. Both men and women experience many of the same symptoms from HIV infection. However, women also experience unique complications that are primarily gynecologic. These could include recurrent vaginal yeast infections, severe pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) or human papillomavirus (HPV) infections. Other vaginal infections might occur more frequently and with greater severity in HIV-positive women (compared with HIV-negative women), including bacterial vaginosis and common sexually transmitted infections such as gonorrhea, chlamydia, and trichomoniasis. HIV-positive women also might experience disruptions or other irregularities in their menstrual cycles. The signs and symptoms of HIV/AIDS are similar to the symptoms of many other illnesses. The only way to determine HIV infection is to be tested. Is there a cure for HIV/AIDS? There is no known cure for HIV/AIDS. There are medical treatments that can slow down the rate at which HIV weakens the immune system. There are other treatments that can prevent or cure some of the illnesses associated with AIDS. Researchers are testing a variety of preventive and curative vaccine candidates, but a successful vaccine likely is years away. What is the link between HIV and tuberculosis? The HIV epidemic is largely responsible for the growing number of TB cases in many parts of the world. HIV weakens the cells in the immune system that are needed to fight TB; up to half of all people living with HIV/AIDS eventually develop TB. Worldwide, TB is the leading cause of death among HIV-positive people. What is the link between HIV and sexually transmitted diseases? People with a sexually transmitted disease are far more vulnerable than others to becoming infected with HIV. For example, genital ulcers caused by herpes create an entry point for HIV. Even when the STD causes no breaks in the skin or open sores, the infection can cause an immune response in the genital area that can make HIV transmission more likely. In addition, HIV-positive people are more vulnerable to acquiring sexually transmitted diseases than HIV-negative people because their immune systems are weakened. If an HIV-positive person is infected with another STD, that person is three to five times more likely than other HIV- positive people to transmit HIV through sexual contact.
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