HIV and AIDS

HIV INFECTION and AIDS OVERVIEW
AIDS, first reported in the United States in 1981, has become a major worldwide epidemic. AIDS stands for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, and it is caused by a virus called HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus). This virus progressively destroys the body's ability to fight off infections and certain cancers by killing or impairing cells of the immune system. Individuals diagnosed with AIDS are susceptible to life-threatening infections caused by microbes that usually don't cause harm to health individuals.

In the United States, more that 793,000 cases of AIDS have been reported since 1981 and close to a million and a half are estimated to be infected. Worldwide, it is estimated that 40 million individuals are living with HIV/AIDS and that 16,000 new infections occur daily. In Colorado, approximately 12,972 individuals are living with HIV and AIDS.

TRANSMISSION
HIV is spread most commonly by sexual contact with an infected partner. The virus can enter the body through the lining of the vagina, vulva, penis, rectum or mouth during sex.

HIV is also spread through contact with infected blood. Prior to the screening of blood for evidence of HIV infection, a procedure adopted in 1985, HIV was also transmitted through transfusions of contaminated blood or blood components. Indeed, of the 213,461 AIDS cases reported as of February 1992, only 2% were attributed to blood transfusions. Today, though, the risk of acquiring HIV from such transfusions is extremely small.

HIV is frequently spread, however, by the sharing of drug needles; these syringes can be contaminated with minute quantities of blood of someone infected with the virus. Additionally, transmission from patient to health-care worker or vice-versa via accidental sticks with contaminated needles of other medical instruments has rarely been reported.

Infants can contract HIV from their infected mothers during pregnancy or birth. Approximately one-third of all pregnant women with HIV will pass the infection to their newborns. HIV can also be spread to babies through breast milk of mothers infected with the virus. Transmission of HIV to babies can be reduced by two-thirds during pregnancy, though, if the mother performs a regimen with the drug ATZ.

Although researchers have detected HIV in saliva of infected individuals, there is no evidence that the virus is spread by contact with saliva. Laboratory studies reveal that saliva has natural compounds that inhibit the infectiousness of HIV, and studies of individuals infected with HIV have failed to find evidence that the virus is spread to others through saliva. However, the risk of infection from so-called 'deep' kissing, involving the exchange of large quantities of saliva remains uncertain. There is also no evidence that HIV can be spread through sweat, tears, urine, or feces.

Studies of families of HIV-infected people have clearly shown that HIV is not spread through casual contact such as the sharing of food utensils, towels, and bedding, swimming pools, telephones, or toilet seats. There is also no evidence that HIV can be spread by biting insects such as mosquitoes or bed bugs.

Although at first HIV mainly infected male homosexuals in this country, anyone potentially can become infected with HIV. The numbers of heterosexual men and women infected by the virus continue to grow.

HIV can infect anyone who practices certain behaviors. Behaviors that put people at risk of HIV infection include:

• Sharing drug needles or syringes,
• Having unprotected sexual contact with an infected person or with someone whose infectious status is unknown (see Risk Continuum),
• Having another sexually transmitted disease, such as syphilis, herpes, chlamydia, or gonorrhea, also appears to make someone more susceptible to acquiring HIV infection during sex with an infected partner because these STI's allow greater viral access into the body.

For more information on HIV and AIDS, go to www.thebody.com.