HIV stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus. It weakens a person’s immune system by destroying important cells that fight disease and infection. During HIV infection, the virus attacks and destroys the infection fighting CD4 cells of the body’s immune system. Loss of CD4 cells makes it difficult for the immune system to fight infections.
How Do You Get HIV or How is it Transmitted?
HIV is transmitted (spread) through:
- Blood
- Semen (cum) and pre-seminal fluid (pre-cum)
- Rectal Fluids
- Vaginal Fluids
- Breast Milk
For HIV transmission to occur, the HIV in these fluids must get into the bloodstream of an HIV-negative person through a lining found in the rectum, vagina, mouth, or tip of the penis. This often occurs as a result of cuts or sores, or by direct injection (from a needle or syringe).
Is there a cure for HIV?
No! There is currently no cure for HIV. This therefore means, once you have HIV, you have it for life. However, there is effective HIV treatment.
ART involves taking a combination of HIV medicines (called an HIV treatment regimen) every day.
ART is recommended for everyone who has HIV.
ART cannot cure HIV, but HIV medicines help people with HIV live longer , normal lives. ART also reduces the risk of HIV transmission.
Once taken as prescribed, ART can reduce the amount of virus in the blood.
Viral suppression is defined as having less than 1000 copies of HIV per milliliter of blood. Viral suppression helps to keep you healthy and prevents transmission.
This is called having an ‘undetectable’ viral load. People with undetectable viral loads can’t pass HIV on through sex. This is also known as undetectable = untransmittable (U=U).
To know if you are undetectable, you must have your viral load monitored regularly by a health professional. Remember your viral load can change. If you stop taking your treatment properly your viral load
will go up again.
A person with HIV is considered to have progressed to AIDS when:
- the number of their CD4 cells falls below 200 cells per cubic millimeter of blood (200 cells/mm3). (In someone with a healthy immune system, CD4 counts are between 500 and 1,600 cells/mm3.) OR
- they develop one or more opportunistic infections regardless of their CD4 count.
Opportunistic infections are those which are more frequent and more severe in people with weakened immune systems.
Without HIV medicine, people with AIDS typically survive about 3 years. Once someone has a dangerous opportunistic illness, life expectancy without treatment falls to about 1 year. HIV medicine can still help people at this stage of HIV infection, and it can even be lifesaving. But people who start HIV medicine soon after they get HIV experience more benefits—that’s why HIV testing is so important.
To get tested for HIV visit
You can ask your health care provider for an HIV test. Many medical clinics, substance.