HIV/AIDS

What is HIV HIV damages the body’s immune system which protects the body from disease. People who have HIV are said to have HIV infection or are referred to as HIV positive. HIV is a disease with many stages which is why some HIV positive people can be healthy while others can be very sick. HIV attacks and eventually weakens the immune system, which allows the body to become infected with diseases that would normally be fought off by the immune system.

What Does HIV Mean? Human- because the virus only affects humans. Only humans can get it, only humans can give it. Immunodeficiency - because the effect of the virus is to create a deficiency of your body’s immune system. Virus- because this organism cannot be eradicated or removed from your body.

How Did HIV Get Started? No one really knows However, there are a number of theories –Some scientists believe that HIV got started in green monkeys in Africa, and then somehow got into the human population, maybe through monkey bites. –On the other hand, some people believe that virus was created in a laboratory Once again, No one really knows

How Your Immune System Normally Works A germ invades the body T Cells (white blood) identify the germ and a chemical signal is sent to the body’s B Cells B Cells make antibodies specific to that germ Antibodies attack and kill the invading germ

How An Immune System Becomes Compromised By HIV HIV enters the blood stream and invades T cells HIV takes over and replicates inside T cells With too many copies of HIV inside the T cell, it explodes and spreads more virus into the bloodstream With T cells dying, too few B cells are told to make antibodies to help keep your body protected

Body Fluids Containing HIV Blood (highest) Semen Pre-Ejaculated or pre-cum Vaginal Fluid Breast Milk (lowest)

Body Fluids NOT Containing HIV Saliva Sweat Tears Mucous Urine Feces »T»These are waste products that leave the body all the time.

3 Requirements For HIV To Be Transmitted From One Person To Another 1)The virus must be present. 2)There must be enough virus present to pass to another person. 3)The virus must enter the bloodstream by some route – i.e. Cut, Needle, Sores, etc. * No one knows how much virus is enough

Routes Of HIV Transmission 1)Unprotected anal/vaginal/oral intercourse with an infected person 2)Sharing unclean needles with someone who is HIV + 3)Transfusion or blood products (most before 1985) 4)Vertical Transmission from HIV + mother to child

HIV Is NOT Spread By: Donating blood. Casual contact, such as hugging, kissing or sharing food. Sharing of telephones, toilet seats, towels or eating/drinking utensils. Insect Bites

How Do You Know If You Have HIV? The only way to know if you are infected with HIV is to get an HIV antibody test. If you are infected with HIV, your immune system will produce antibodies specific to the virus. You can’t tell by looking at someone if they have HIV

The HIV Antibody Test Detects HIV antibodies. There could be up to a 6 month window period, after having been infected, for the immune system to produce a detectable amount of antibodies. There are two types of tests, Elisa and Western Blot are run on each sample. There are two ways to collect the samples, oral collection and blood draw.

HIV vs AIDS AIDS is a more advanced stage of HIV disease. HIV is the disease and AIDS is a diagnosis For example, hepatitis is a disease of the liver and cirrhosis of the liver is a advanced diagnosis

What is AIDS AIDS is the stage of HIV disease when the immune system gets very weak and the body becomes more susceptible to infection and other diseases. People can have HIV for years without becoming AIDS diagnosed. They may look and feel fine and might not even know they are infected with HIV.

What Does AIDS Mean? ACQUIRED-because it’s a condition you must acquire or become infected with. IMMUNE-because it affects your body’s immune system. That is part of your body that usually fights off bacteria and viruses DEFICIENCY-because it makes your immune system deficient, or not able to work properly SYNDROME-become someone with AIDS may have many different diseases and infections.

Treatments For HIV Disease There are seveal different treatment options for HIV and AIDS available. Some treatment options can cause physical side effects that are debilitating. All treatment options are expensive and effectiveness may vary from person to person.

Reducing Sexual Risk Of HIV Exposure Abstinence is the only 100% effective way Reduce the number of sexual partners Use of protection –Condoms (male or female)

Reducing Nonsexual Risk Of HIV Exposure Abstaining from drug use is the only 100% way to reduce risk If using drugs –Do not share drug paraphernalia (drug tools) –If you share, clean with bleach and water before use Do not share personal hygiene items –Toothbrushes –Razors

HIV/AIDS Statistics Worldwide 2.5 million new cases of HIV were reported in 2011 Worldwide 34 million people are living with HIV, over 30 million deaths from AIDS End of million people in US were living with HIV. About 16% don’t know they are infected Around 50,000 people in US get infected with HIV each year 15,500 people in US with AIDS died in 2010 More than 635,000 individuals with AIDS have died in US In the US in ,273 diagnosed with HIV, 32,052 diagnosed with AIDS Overall, 1,155,792 people in the US have been diagnosed with AIDS In San Joaquin County from , 297 reported new cases of HIV

HIV/AIDS Statistics Half of all new infections are thought to occur in young people under 25 More than 123,000 young adults developed AIDS in their twenties. This means that they were infected with HIV as teenagers. Young Americans between the ages of are still contracting HIV at the rate of 2 per hour. Only 48% of sexually active teens surveyed in the U.S. used a condom last time they had sexual intercourse. 40% of teenage girls become pregnant each year in the United States 25% of sexually active teens in the U.S. are infected with an STD each year.

For More Information San Joaquin AIDS Foundation 4330 N. Pershing Ave., Ste. B3 Stockton, CA (209) Free and Anonymous HIV Antibody Testing Thursday 5:30 - 7:30 Internet Resources: NCHSTP: d/nchstp.html DHAP: NPIN: