AIDS awareness 101
WITH the current pandemic, people living with HIV/AIDS face even more hardships than before, including nutritional support, stigma and discrimination, and safeguarding their bodies from becoming infected with COVID-19. December is recognised globally as AIDS Awareness Month, and, as the month winds down, we share some information from the National HIV/STI/TB Programme about the disease, and steps you can take to protect yourself.
1. What is HIV?
HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) is a virus that attacks cells that help the body fight infection, making a person more vulnerable to other infections and diseases. If left untreated, HIV can lead to the disease AIDS.
2. What is AIDS?
Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is a disease in which the body’s natural immune (protection) system breaks down, leaving it unable to fight off infections. A person with AIDS gets illnesses that are little or no threat to others with a healthy immune system.
3. What causes AIDS?
AIDS is caused by HIV. HIV is present in the blood and other body fluids such as the semen or vaginal secretions of an infected person.
4. How do I get HIV?
You can get HIV through any of the following ways:
• By having unprotected sexual intercourse with an infected person;
• By sharing drug needles with an infected person;
• Through the transfusion or blood produced from an infected source;
• An infected mother can pass the virus on to her child either during pregnancy, at birth, or through breastfeeding.
5. What is a ‘window period’?
When a person gets infected it may take six weeks or up to three months before antibodies for HIV are detected in the blood. The HIV test looks for antibodies. When these antibodies are detected the person is diagnosed HIV-positive. A person can be positive and the test shows negative because the test was done during the window period.
6. Can I tell if a person has HIV?
You can’t tell by looking. A person with HIV can live for many years without showing any outward signs of illness. The majority of people infected with HIV do not know they have the virus; however, they can infect others. People who have been infected with HIV may eventually develop AIDS.
7. Can HIV be prevented?
Yes. HIV/AIDS can be prevented by:
•Abstaining from or delaying sex;
• Being faithful to one uninfected partner;
• Using a latex condom every time you have sex (vaginal, anal, oral) with every partner;
• Not doing drugs or sharing injection needles;
• Seeking early and complete treatment for STIs.
8. Can I get HIV from kissing?
You cannot get HIV from kissing an infected person on the cheek, and when saliva is exchanged it is unlikely that the virus will be transmitted. This is because one would have to swallow one gallon of the saliva from an infected person in order to contract the disease. However, the risk increases if an uninfected person has a sore or cut in the mouth.
9. Can I get HIV from performing oral sex?
Yes, HIV can be transmitted if there is an exchange of penile or vaginal secretions from an infected person, especially if there is a cut or sore on the uninfected person’s penis or vagina.
10. Can I get HIV from having oral sex performed on me?
Yes, if your partner has HIV, blood from a cut or sore in their mouth can enter the urethra (the opening on the tip of the penis) or the vagina and you may become infected. However, using a latex condom or dental dam during oral sex reduces the risk of transmission. You can make a dental dam by cutting open a condom and using it as a barrier.
11. Is it true that if an infected man does not ejaculate then he cannot pass on HIV?
No. HIV is present in the semen that a man ejaculates, and it is also present in the fluid commonly called the pre-ejaculatory fluid, which oozes out of the penis before or during the sex act. This fluid contains semen, which can carry the virus.
12. Are condoms a very reliable way to protect myself from HIV?
Condoms are the best way to protect yourself from HIV and other STIs when they are used consistently and correctly.
