World AIDS Day

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Today is world AIDS day.

Answers to frequently asked questions on HIV /AIDS.

What are the main routes of HIV transmission?

These are the main ways in which someone can become infected with HIV:

unprotected penetrative intercourse with someone who is infected.

Injection or transfusion of contaminated blood or blood products, donations of semen (artificial insemination), skin grafts and organ transplants taken from someone who is infected.

From a mother who is infected to her baby; this may be during the course of pregnancy, at birth and through breast-feeding.

Sharing unsterilised injection equipment that has been previously used by someone who is infected.

Can I be infected if my partner doesn’t have HIV?

No. Like all sexually transmitted infections, HIV cannot be created, only passed on. If you are sure that your partner does not have HIV, then there is no risk of contracting it even if you do have unprotected sex (whether it be vaginal, anal or oral). However, pregnancy and other STIs remain a risk, so you should still use a condom or other suitable form of birth control wherever possible.

Is there a connection between HIV and other STDs (Sexually transmitted Diseases)?

HIV and other STDs can impact upon each other. The presence of STDs in an HIV infected person can increase the risk of HIV transmission. This can be through a genital ulcer which could bleed or through genital discharge. If an HIV negative person has an STD, it can also increase their risk of being infected with HIV. This is whether the STD causes breaks in the skin (ie: syphilis or herpes) or through the infection stimulating an immune response in the genital area and thus making HIV transmission more likely (ie: chlamydia or gonorrhoea). HIV transmission however is more likely in those with ulcerative STDs than non-ulcerative. Using condoms during sex is the best way to prevent the sexual transmission of diseases, including HIV.

Can I become infected with HIV through normal social contact/activities such as shaking hands/toilet seats/swimming pools/sharing cutlery/kissing/sneezes and coughs?

No. This is because HIV is not an airborne, water borne or food-borne virus. Also, the virus does not survive for very long outside the human body. Therefore ordinary social contact such as kissing, shaking hands, coughing and sharing cutlery does not result in the virus being passed from one person to another.

Can I become infected with HIV from needles on movie/cinema seats?

There have been a number of stories circulating via the Internet and e-mail, about people becoming infected from needles left on cinema seats . However these rumours appear to have no factual basis.

For HIV infection to take place in this way the needle would need to contain infected blood with a high level of infectious virus. If a person was then pricked with an infected needle, they could become infected although there is only a 0.4% chance.

Although discarded needles can transfer blood and blood-borne illnesses such as hepatitis B, C and HIV, the risk of infection taking place in this way is extremely low.

Is there a risk of HIV transmission when having a tattoo, body piercing or visiting the barbers?

If instruments contaminated with blood are not sterilised between clients there is a risk of HIV transmission. However, people who carry out body piercing or tattoos should follow procedures called 'universal precautions', which are designed to prevent the transmission of blood borne infections such as HIV and Hepatitis B.

When visiting the barbers there is no risk of infection unless the skin is cut and infected blood gets in to the wound. Traditional " cut-throat " razors used by barbers now have disposable blades, which should only be used once, and so reduce the risk of blood borne infections such as Hepatitis and HIV.

Are healthcare workers at risk from HIV through contact with HIV+ patients?

The risk to healthcare workers being exposed to HIV is extremely low, especially if they follow universal healthcare procedures. Everyday casual contact does not expose anyone, including healthcare workers, to HIV. The main risk is through accidental injuries from needles and other sharp objects that may be contaminated with HIV. It has been estimated that the risk of infection from a needlestick injury is less than 1 percent. In the UK for instance, there have been five documented HIV seroconversions through occupational exposure in the healthcare setting, and twelve possible/probable occupational seroconversions. In the US, there were 56 documented cases of occupational HIV transmission up to June 2000. Certain specific factors may mean a needle stick injury carries a higher risk, for example. These include if it was a deep injury, if it was made with a hollow bore needle, if the source patient has a high viral load and if the sharp instrument was visibly contaminated with blood.

Am I at risk of becoming infected with HIV when visiting the doctor's or dentist's?

Transmission of HIV in a healthcare setting is extremely rare. All health professionals are required to follow infection control procedures when caring for any patient. These procedures are called universal precautions for infection control. They are designed to protect both patients and healthcare professionals from the transmission of blood-borne diseases such as hepatitis B and HIV.

If blood splashes into my eye can I become infected with HIV?

Research suggests the risk of HIV infection in this way is extremely small. A very small number of people -usually in a healthcare setting- have become infected with HIV as a result of blood splashes in the eye.

Can I become infected with HIV through biting?

Infection with HIV in this way is unusual. There have only been a couple of documented 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.

Can I be infected with HIV through contact with animals such as dogs and cats?

No. HIV is a Human Immunodeficiency Virus. It only affects humans. There are some other types of immunodeficiency viruses, which specifically affect cats and monkeys, namely the Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV) and Simian Immunodeficiency Virus (SIV). These viruses are of no risk to humans though.

Can I get HIV from a mosquito?

No it is not possible to get HIV from mosquitoes. When taking blood from someone mosquitoes do not inject blood from any previous person. The only thing that a mosquito injects is saliva, which acts as a lubricant and enables it to feed more efficiently.

Can HIV be transmitted in household settings?

HIV is overwhelmingly transmitted either through sexual contact, through intravenous drug-use, through infected blood donations or from mother to child during pregnancy, birth or breastfeeding. HIV is not transmitted through everyday social contact. There have however been a few cases whereby it is thought that family members have infected each other through ways other than those stated above.

Whilst HIV transmission through family members and members of the same household is possible, it occurs in extremely low numbers and documented cases are rare.

Can I become infected with HIV if I inject drugs and share the needles with someone else, without sterilising them?

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 bloodstream. Sharing needles, syringes, spoons, filters and water, can pass on the virus. Disinfecting equipment between uses can reduce the chance of transmission, but doesn't eliminate it.

Can I transmit HIV to my baby whilst I am pregnant and if I breastfeed?

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 breastfeeding. 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 breastfeeding, as HIV is found in breast milk.

Does donating blood or having a blood transfusion mean that I am putting myself at risk from HIV?

Some people have been infected through a transfusion of infected blood. In most countries, however, all the blood used for transfusions is now tested for HIV. In those countries where the blood has been tested, HIV infection through blood transfusions is now extremely rare. Blood products, such as those used by people with haemophilia, are now heat-treated to make them safe.

Can HIV be transmitted outside of the body?

Whilst HIV may live for some time outside of 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. To obtain data on the survival of HIV, laboratory studies have required the use of artificially high concentrations of laboratory-grown virus. Although these concentrations of HIV can be kept alive for days or even weeks under controlled conditions, studies have shown that drying of these high concentrations of HIV reduces the amount of infectious virus by 90 to 99 percent within several hours. Since the HIV concentrations used in laboratory studies are much higher than those actually found in blood or other specimens, drying of HIV-infected human blood or other body fluids reduces the theoretical risk of environmental transmission to that which has been observed, essentially zero. Incorrect interpretation of conclusions drawn from laboratory studies have unnecessarily alarmed some people.

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