2. HIV versus AIDS
• HIV - Human Immunodeficiency Virus
– Can be acquired from sexual intercourse
– HIV is the stage before AIDS
• AIDS - Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome
– HIV will develop into AIDS.
– AIDS is a label given when a person's white blood cell
count goes below a certain number
– AIDS is one step closer to death.
3.
4. What does HIV do?
• HIV kills helper T cells.
• Helper T cells signal the body to attack
when the body is infected.
• Without the helper T cells, the body would
not know it is being attacked in the first
place.
• This weakens the immune system which
leaves the body open to opportunistic
infections. Infections that can be normally
fought off.
• Many deaths are caused by these
infections.
5. Modes of
Transmission
• HIV is transferred through bodily fluids:
– Blood
– Semen
– Vaginal Fluid
– Pre-ejaculate
– Breast milk
6. Risky Behavior
• Four major routes of transmission:
– Unsafe sex
– Contaminated needles
– Breast milk
– Mother to child
• Unprotected sex or unsafe sex is not taking proper
methods to prevent STIs, including not using a condom.
Even if you only haven't used it once.
• Unsafe sex is the biggest cause of HIV. Therefore, it is very
important to use a condom to lower the chances of
acquiring HIV.
7. Estimated Number of New HIV Infections, by Transmission Category, 2006
16%
53%
31%
Male-to-Male Sexual Contact
High-Risk Heterosexual Contact
Injection Drug Use
8. Needles
• Blood transfusions are generally safe in the
United States due to the testing of the donated
blood. Less than 1 in 3,000,000 units of blood are
infected.
• There are no reported cases of HIV infection from
tattoos and piercings because new needles are
used each time at professional piercing places.
• In third world countries where needles may be
reused, this is not the case.
9.
10. Mother to Child
• Untreated, the rate of infection is about
25%.
• When treated, the rate of infection to the
child can be as low as 1%.
• The child has to stay away from breast
milk after birth because it will contain
HIV.
• 65,000 infections were avoided this way.
11. Symptoms of HIV
• An HIV positive person may experience anywhere
from no symptoms at all to strong symptoms.
• The symptoms that may show are fever, fatigue, and
possibly rash.
• Because the symptoms are so similar to other
illnesses (ex: flu) and even stress, basing a HIV
diagnosis by looking at symptoms is unreliable.
• For this reason, it is not possible to tell whether or not
someone has HIV by looking at them.
13. Prevention
• Abstinence – without any sexual contact, bodily
fluids that carry the virus will not be able to be
exchanged.
• Consistent use of condoms – use a condom every
time you have intercourse. If it is not used, the HIV
virus can be transmitted.
• Be faithful – if you and your partner don't cheat,
then there is no way HIV could be passed on to you
or your partner. HIV is only transferred, not created.
14. Should You Get Tested?
• If you ever had sex without a condom.
• If you've ever used needles for:
– Drugs
– Steroids
– Piercings/Tattoos
– Blood transfusions in third world countries.
• If you're planning to get pregnant – don't pass it onto
your baby.
16. Types of HIV Testing
• Confidential – You tell your testing center your
name. Your name is attached to your results
and will be put into your medical record. It
may be shared with your healthcare provider.
Results may not be shared with anyone else
without your consent.
• Anonymous – You are only given an unique
testing number that identifies you. You use
this number to get your test results. Not all
HIV test sites offer anonymous testing.
17. New York State HIV
Laws
• Started in June 2000
• Requires doctors and laboratories to report
new cases of HIV. Doctors also have to talk to
the HIV positive patient.
• Information will be used without names to
track the HIV epidemic.
18. Partner Notification
Laws not required to
• If you are HIV positive, you are
report people who you did risky acts with. It is
advised that you do, however.
• The best way to tell the person that they may have
given you HIV is directly talking to them but you
can find a doctor or counselor to do it for you.
• When informing sexual partners about their risk of
having HIV through a doctor, they will not be told
that you are HIV positive.
• It's illegal to discriminate because of HIV.
19. Children's Rights to
Testing to testing
• Oarents have the legal right to consent
for infants and young children since they are not
capable of making that decision.
• If you want to be tested, you may consent
yourself no matter how old you are.
• Your results will not be shared, even with your
parents. They will not even know you were even
tested. The confidentiality laws will apply.
• Exception – if an adolescent was abused, raped,
or needs urgent care.
