HIV and AIDS

What is HIV?
Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) causes the most serious sexually transmitted infection (STI) - acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). HIV attacks the part of the body that defends against disease (the immune system).

There are usually no visible symptoms during the early years of infection so it is not possible to tell if your partner has HIV unless he or she has had an HIV blood test. Many people with HIV look healthy but can transmit the virus to others.

HIV can lead to death about 10 years after being infected but there are now good treatments available that can improve the quality of life of an infected person, so it is important that the disease is found and treated early.

How could I become infected with HIV?
You can become infected with HIV if the body fluids - blood, seminal fluid, semen, vaginal fluids or breastmilk - of an infected person get into your body. The most common way this happens is through unprotected sex, or penetrative sex without a condom. The sex can be vaginal, anal or oral. Using condoms helps keep your partner's body fluids out of your body and helps protect you from HIV.

HIV can also be passed on by sharing drug needles or syringes or by being exposed accidentally to blood or body fluids (for example in a hospital work environment).

Also, an HIV-infected mother can pass the infection to her baby during pregnancy, childbirth or breast-feeding.

How is HIV NOT transmitted?
HIV is a fragile virus that does not live long outside the body, and it is not spread through the air or food.

It is not passed on through sharing food, eating utensils or by drinking from the same cup or glass as someone who is infected. You can hug, kiss and touch someone with HIV and not worry about getting infected. You can also use a public toilet or telephone, share a towel with someone or swim in public swimming pools and not be concerned about being accidentally infected.

What's the connection between taking drugs and HIV?
Sometimes people share and pass needles around as part of the "drug experience", but this is an easy way to get infected with HIV.

The virus can be passed on by sharing injecting drug needles or kits, works, cookers, filters, or any other drug paraphernalia that comes into contact with blood. This is because blood will often come into the syringe through the needle after people stick their vein or pop their skin and inject the drug. If you share a needle or works and they haven't been cleaned, the blood left in them will be injected into you when you shoot up and this can infect you.

This doesn't only happen with drugs such as heroin, cocaine or speed. It could also be from sharing needles and works for shooting up steroids that are sometimes used by athletes and body builders to increase their muscle mass.

If you are shooting drugs and sharing works, even if you try this only once in a while, you are at significant risk for HIV and other viral or blood-borne infections, such as hepatitis B or hepatitis C. Hepatitis is a serious virus that affects your liver. The most common forms of the virus are hepatitis A, B and C. Hepatitis B and C can be transmitted through sexual contact or through drug use.

What's the difference between HIV and AIDS?
Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is the virus that leads to acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS).

HIV damages cells in the immune (defence) system that fight infection and disease. As the virus gradually destroys these important cells, the immune system becomes less and less able to protect against illness. Once that defence system is weakened, your body is vulnerable to specific kinds of infection, such as a specific type of pneumonia, certain cancers and eye infections. Your body can't fight off those infections and it is these, rather than the HIV virus itself that makes you ill or kills you.

HIV does not destroy the cells quickly, and people infected with HIV may not have any signs or symptoms for many years. They will look perfectly healthy and feel perfectly healthy and may not even know they are infected unless they have an HIV antibody test.

AIDS is the last stage of HIV infection.