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HIV

What is HIV/AIDS?

HIV stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus. This virus attacks a person’s immune system or white blood cells called CD4 cells. HIV can lead to AIDS, which stands for Acquired Immuno Deficiency Syndrome, which is the final stage of HIV.

Transmission & Symptoms

HIV can be transmitted through bodily fluid that contains those CD4 cells. The following bodily fluids can spread HIV.

  • Blood
  • Pre-ejaculation Fluid (Pre-Cum)
  • Semen
  • Vaginal Fluid
  • Anal Fluid
  • Breast Milk
  • Spinal Fluid

If these bodily fluids come in contact with any other cuts, scrapes, mucous membranes and/or damaged tissue, transmission can occur. Depending on a person’s viral load (the amount of virus in the blood), alcohol and drug use, and other sexually transmitted infections (STI’s), there can be a higher likelihood of exposure or transmission of HIV.

Myths & Facts

You can get HIV from kissing someone

Myth! You can not get HIV from saliva. If there are open cuts or wounds in or around someone’s mouth, there is a higher possibility of exposure or transmission because there could be blood involved.

You can get HIV from an insect, like a mosquito or tick

Myth! You can not get HIV from a mosquito or tick. As soon as an insect consumes a human’s blood, it is no longer human blood so it is no longer the Human Immunodeficiency Virus. Insects also do not inject other people with the blood they have consumed from someone else.

You can get HIV from a toilet seat

Myth! You can not get HIV from a toilet seat. Even if there are bodily fluids on the toilet seat, HIV can not last long outside of the body so even if you come in contact with those fluids.

HIV can last on a surface for a long time

Myth! HIV can not live outside of a person’s body or replicate to make more copies of the virus. It is always important to use universal precautions when handling bodily fluids though.

Data

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), at the end of 2022, 39 million people are currently living with HIV
In 2022, 630,000 people died from HIV-related causes & 1.3 million people acquired HIV.

WHO, the Global Fund, and UNAIDS all have global HIV strategies that strive to end the HIV epidemic by 2030.

By 2025, 95% of all people living with HIV should have a diagnosis, take life-saving ART, and should achieve a suppressed viral load. In 2022, it was at 86%.

Treatment

If left untreated, HIV can turn into the last stage of AIDS. Once someone receives this diagnosis, they have approximately three years to live without treatment.