Primer on AIDS

The Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome or AIDS is one of the most deadly diseases known to man. Officially named by the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention in the United States in 1982, AIDS has no cure or vaccine. Sadly, people know far too little of AIDS and its carrier virus, HIV or Human Immunodeficiency Virus and their deadly nature. This primer seeks to acquaint the readers with basic information about AIDS and HIV�its definition, modes of transmission�and to shatter the myths surrounding this fatal disease.

AIDS, or Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome is caused by the Human Immunodeficiency Virus or HIV. AIDS is not a single disease. Someone with AIDS nay experience a wide range of diseases, hence the �syndrome� tag. It affects the immune system, the one responsible for fighting of germs such as bacteria and viruses, by weakening the immune system, making it vulnerable to other infections or diseases. Many of these infections are normally not fatal for those who have AIDS, but for those who do not have AIDS, they can be life threatening.

Discovered in 1984 as the virus responsible for weakening the immune system, the Human Immunodeficiency Virus or HIV is the cause of AIDS. A person does not simply �get� AIDS. Rather, a person is infected with HIV, which later develops into AIDS. AIDS is the final stage of an HIV infection.

As it is a virus, HIV is incapable of reproducing itself. It needs to take over a human cell to reproduce. It is a fragile organism, unable to survive long in an open-air environment.

How long does it take for HIV to develop into or cause AIDS?

It takes around 8-11 years in average before HIV develops into full-blown AIDS. This varies greatly from person to person and can depend on many factors including a person�s health status and behaviors.

How can you get HIV? How is it transmitted?

HIV is transmitted by one infected person to another person by contact with the bodily fluids of the infected person or by the transfer of these fluids through various modes of transmission. These bodily fluids include blood, semen, vaginal secretions and breast milk. Of the four, blood has the highest concentration of the virus.

Certain activities involving these fluids allow HIV transmission. These are the following:

1. Sexual intercourse (vaginal and anal)- The most common way of getting infected with HIV, anal or vaginal intercourse without protection is considered a high-risk and unsafe activity. In intercourse with an infected person, blood or sexual fluid like semen and vaginal secretions with HIV enter the body through the soft moist areas (mucous membranes) or enter through the cuts, sores or abrasions in the vagina, rectum or penis made during intercourse. Many of this sores or cuts are hard to see, and may go by unnoticed.

2. Oral sex- Though the risk of contacting HIV in oral sex is relatively lower than vaginal or anal sex, oral can still transmit HIV. Though the mouth is an inhospitable place for HIV, a person can still become infected with HIV if infected sexual fluids or blood get into any cuts or sores in the mouth or if you have dental problems like gingivitis.

3. Sharing injection needles- Sharing the needle used by an HIV-infected person can pass HIV-infected blood directly from one bloodstream to another. Unsterilized needles can also pass HIV.

4. Mother-to-child- An HIV infected mother can pass the virus directly before or during birth (while the child is still in the womb) and through breastfeeding.

A person can also get HIV from artificial insemination (the person gets infected sperm), skin grafts or organ transplants (the person receives infected skin or body part).

No. Casual contact or social kissing is not a risk for transmission. The saliva of an infected person contains very minuscule amounts of HIV, not enough to infect a person. It would take gallons of saliva to infect a person.

However, French, or open-mouthed, wet kissing, can transmit HIV. It has the potential for the contact with blood through the cuts or abrasions made during the kiss or if the people involved have dental problems like gingivitis.

There was one case when a person got infected with HIV this way, but that was because they had dental problems.

You also can�t get HIV through biting, unless the bite is severe and there is blood involved.

No. You can�t get HIV from casual contact with an infected person, like shaking hands, touching or by sharing clothes.

HIV is a fragile virus. It cannot survive long in the outside world. You can�t get it by sharing cutlery or eating the food prepared by an HIV infected person. You can�t get it from insect bites. You can�t get it in pools, or in toilets or in household settings.

It�s not an airborne virus, so you can�t get it from sneezing or coughing of an infected person.

No. Tears and sweat, along with feces and urine, do not contain HIV. They are not infectious.

It�s extremely rare that HIV transmission occurs in a healthcare setting. All health professionals are required to follow infection control procedures when caring for any patient. These procedures are called universal precautions for infection control. They are designed to protect both patients and healthcare professionals from the transmission of blood-borne diseases such as hepatitis B and HIV.

It�s difficult to tell if someone has developed AIDS or is infected with HIV. There are no specific symptoms. People infected with HIV might develop flu-like symptoms in a few weeks, but some may not. The only way for a person to find out if he has AIDS is to take an HIV antibody test.

When a person is infected with HIV, the immune system develops antibodies to combat the virus. These antibodies take three months to develop. In some rare cases, it takes six months for these antibodies to show up.

Getting tested at this period may result in unclear results. It is recommended that a person wait at least three months after the last time he/she were at risk before taking the test. Some test centers may recommend testing again at 6 months, just to be extra sure.

Since sexual and anal intercourse is the common way to get infected with HIV, abstinence or not having sex at all is the best way to prevent yourself from being infected with AIDS. There�s no transfer of blood or sexual fluids involved, so it�s totally safe.

Safe sex is when there is no HIV in both partners, no blood and sexual fluids exchanged, or no way for HIV to get into the body. Sex with one partner is safe as long none of you are infected with HIV. AIDS.org, one of the largest resources on AIDS and HIV on the Internet, recommends the following for safer sex or to reduce the risk of contacting HIV:

AIDS.org also advises people to set their limits (sexually). A person must know how much protection he or she wants. The person must also stick to those limits and not let alcohol, an attractive partner or drugs to forget to protect himself/herself.

Studies show that latex condoms, when used correctly and consistently, are highly effective in preventing HIV infection. The pores in the condom are too small for HIV to get through.

According to Avert.org, a United Kingdom-based website that discusses AIDS and HIV, the evidence for the effectiveness of condoms is "in studies of couples in which one person is infected with HIV and the other not (discordant couples). In a study of discordant couples in Europe, among 123 couples who reported consistent condom use, none of the uninfected partners became infected. In contrast, among the 122 couples who used condoms inconsistently, 12 of the uninfected partners became infected."

However, people do not always know how to use condoms correctly and effectively.

No. These guidelines help reduce the risk of you getting infected with HIV when you have sex. A condom can still tear while you have sex. The best way is to not have sex at all or abstinence since there is no contact with or sharing of blood or sexual fluids.

Get tested for HIV infection. There are numerous clinics that can test you if you have HIV. The San Lazaro Hospital in San Lazaro Compound, Sta. Cruz, Manila, is one of them. All test results on HIV and AIDS are confidential and cannot be released without your consent.

AIDS Fact Sheet. AIDS.org. Http://www.aids.org/factSheets/index.html.

"Safer Sex Guidelines". AIDS.org. http://www.aids.org/factSheets/151-Safer-Sex-Guidelines.html

"HIV and AIDS: Frequently Asked Questions." Avert.org. Http://www.avert.org/faq1.htm.