AIDS
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Sexually Transmitted Diseases Page
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- HIV is acronym for Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)
- HIV virus causes AIDS
- HIV by itself is not an illness and does not instantly lead to
AIDS
- An HIV infected person can lead a healthy life for several years
before he/she develops AIDS.
- HIV is found only in human beings and not in any other living
organism
- The person infected with HIV is said to be ‘HIV+’ or ‘HIV
positive
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Aids is acronym for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome
A-stands for ACQUIRED i.e.;
contracted not genetic or inherited.
I-stands for IMMUNE i.e.,
power to resist disease
D-stands for
DEFICIENCY i.e., insufficiency
S-stands for SYNDROME, i.e., a
number of complaints and signs indicative of a particular
disease.
HIV attacks the human body by breaking down its immune system that is
meant to fight diseases. Over a period of time, the immune system
weakens and the body loses its natural ability to fight diseases. At
this stage, various diseases affect the infected person.
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There are two types of HIV, HIV-1 and HIV-2. Worldwide the
predominant virus is HIV-1, and generally when people refer to HIV
without specifying the type of virus, they will be referring to
HIV-1.
Both HIV-1 and HIV-2 cause the body to produce antibodies within 3 to
6 months.
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A person can get infected with HIV through the following routes.
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Unprotected
Sex
If a person engages in sexual intercourse with an HIV infected person
without using a condom, he/she can get
infected.
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Sharing of improperly sterilized needles and
hospital
tools
If surgical devices like syringes and scalpels, or even certain
instruments, used on the infected person, are used on another person
without proper sterilization, they can transmit the infection.
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Unsafe blood
transfusion :
A person can get the infection; if he/she is given blood transfusion
of HIV infected blood.
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Infected parent to child : An HIV
positive mother can transmit the virus to child during pregnancy or at
birth. Breast-milk can also act as a transmission medium..
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- Shaking hands
- Eating along with HIV infected person
- Light kiss
- Through air or by coughing and sneezing
- Through food or water
- Through sweat and tears
- By sharing cups, plates and utensils with an infected person
- By touching, hugging an infected person
- By sharing toilets and bathrooms with an infected person
- By sharing clothes with an infected person
- By living with an infected person
- By mosquitoes, fleas, or other insects
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HIV and other STIs can impact upon each other. The presence of STIs
in an HIV infected person can increase the risk of HIV
transmission.
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For HIV infection to take place in this
way, the needle would need to contain infected blood with a high level
of infectious virus.
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If instruments contaminated with blood
are not sterilized and used on another person there is a risk of HIV
transmission. However, people who carry out body piercing or tattoos
should follow procedures called ‘universal precautions ‘which are
deigned to prevent the transmission of blood borne infections such as
HIV and Hepatitis B.
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The risk to health care workers being
exposed to HIV is extremely low, especially if they follow universal
health care procedures. The main risk is through accidental injuries
from needles or other sharp object that may be contaminated with
HIV.
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Transmission of HIV in a health care setting is extremely rare. All
health professionals are required to follow infection control
procedures when caring for any patient.
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Research suggests the risk of HIV infection in this way is extremely
small. A very small number of people, usually in a health care setting,
have become infected with HIV as a result of blood splashes in the
eye.
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Infection with HIV in this way is
unusual. There have only been stray cases of HIV
transmission resulting from biting. In these particular cases, severe
tissue tearing and damage were reported in addition to the presence of
blood.
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There is a possibility of becoming infected with HIV if you share
injecting equipment with someone who has the virus. If HIV infected
blood remains within the bore (inside) of the needle or in the syringe
and someone else then injects themselves with it, that blood can be
flushed into the blood stream. Sharing needless, syringes can pass on
the virus.
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An infected pregnant woman can pass the virus on to her unborn baby
either before or during birth. HIV can also be passed on during
breast-feeding. If a woman knows that she is infected with HIV, there
are drugs that she can take to greatly reduce the chances of her child
becoming infected, as well as other options such as choosing to have a
caesarean section delivery and not breast-feeding, as HIV is found in
breast milk.
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Some people have been infected through a transfusion of infected
blood. However, nowadays, all the blood used for transfusions is
being tested for HIV. Hence, HIV infection through blood
transfusions is becoming rare.
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While HIV may live for sometime outside the body, HIV transmission
has not been reported as a consequence of contact with spillages of
blood, semen or other bodily fluids. Just because someone comes into
contact with tiny quantities of HIV in dried blood, it does not follow
that infection will occur. Scientists agree that HIV does not survive
well in the environment, making the possibility of environmental
transmission remote. Drying of HIV- infected human blood or other body
fluids reduces the theoretical risk of environmental
transmission.
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Research has shown that circumcised men
are up to 70% less likely to contract HIV through sex. This is because
the inner lining of the foreskin is thought to be particularly
vulnerable to HIV. However, circumcision does not mean you cannot get
HIV, it just means it’s less likely. Circumcised men can also pass on
the virus just as easily as those whose foreskin has not been
removed.
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Even if you are on treatment or your tests show that you have very
low levels of HIV in your blood, the virus is never totally
eradicated and you are therefore still capable of infecting others.
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