WHAT IS HIV/AIDS?
A. HIV (Human Immunodeficiency [“im-you-no-de-fish-en-see”] Virus — is the virus that causes AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome). HIV attacks and kills the cells in our bodies that keep us from getting diseases. This makes people with HIV get illnesses that healthy people do not get. When a person with HIV gets very sick from pneumonia, some kinds of cancer, and other life-threatening diseases, they are said to have AIDS. AIDS is a fatal disease. Here is more information on HIV/AIDS. • HIV/AIDS is a sexually transmitted disease (STD). This means that you can get HIV/AIDS by having sex with someone who already has HIV/AIDS. The disease can be passed to another person through contact with blood, semen, vaginal fluid, and breast milk. HIV can be passed by sharing needles used to take drugs, from a pregnant woman to her unborn baby, and by a mother to her baby when breast feeding. Men can pass the disease to other men and women. Women can pass the disease to other women and men. •
Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is spread during sex, through significant and direct contact with infected blood and body fluids, and from mother to baby. The virus is present in blood, semen, vaginal secretions and breast milk. Over time, the HIV infection causes the immune system to weaken, causing the person to be at risk for getting other infections that could be life-threatening. When one of these other infections (called opportunistic infections) happens, the person has Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome or AIDS. The first symptoms of HIV infection can resemble the symptoms of a common cold or flu. Some people have these symptoms and others dont, so symptoms are not a reliable way to figure out if you have been infected. There is no vaccine for HIV. If you have possibly been exposed to blood and body fluids, get tested.
