Today, raise awareness about AIDS worldwide

By Ryan Doherty

The AIDS pandemic caused by the spread of HIV infection is one of the most destructive epidemics in recorded history with over 25 million people killed by the disease. World AIDS Day, observed on December 1 each year, is dedicated to raising awareness of the AIDS pandemic and how it can be stopped. Ryan Doherty, a student at the University of Toronto, Ontario has compiled some useful information on the topic of AIDS, in addition to hosting a full week of awareness and fundraising events for students in living on campus.

What is HIV? What is AIDS?

AIDS stands for Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome, and is caused by HIV. HIV stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus, and is a virus that attacks your immune system.

When the virus infects your body:
• You may not feel or look sick for years, even though you can still infect others.
• Your immune system slowly grows weak, and you are susceptible to other illnesses.
• If left untreated, your immune system will no longer be able to defend against other infections, disease or cancers. Once this happens, you have AIDS (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome).

After becoming infected with HIV, you will gradually lose the protection of their immune system, and this is what results in health problems. Initially, health problems will be fairly simple, such as skin problems or yeast infections. However, the illnesses will become more serious. The amount of time that it takes HIV to begin to affect a person’s health varies widely from one individual to another. When a person is diagnosed with one of the serious “AIDS-defining” illnesses or cancers, that person is said to have AIDS.

How does someone catch HIV?

Anyone can be infected with HIV; no matter their age, sex, sexual orientation, race, ethnic origin, education or wealth. It’s not who you are that puts you at risk for HIV infection – it’s what you do!

HIV does not pass through skin, nor does it pass through the air (unlike the common cold or flu). HIV can only survive a short period of time outside the body (which is why you cannot be infected with HIV from toilet seats or from sharing dishes or utensils). You cannot be infected with HIV through body fluids, such as saliva, sweat or urine. You can get HIV if the blood, semen, vaginal fluid, or breast milk of an infected person gets into your bloodstream through a break, cut or tear in your skin.

Again, the only body fluids which have enough HIV to infect someone are:
• Blood
• Semen
• vaginal fluids (including menstrual fluids)
• breast milk

The virus can get into your bloodstream if you:
• have vaginal or anal sex without using a condom.
• have oral sex without using a condom or a dental dam
• share sex toys without cleaning them properly
• share needles or other equipment to inject drugs like cocaine, heroine or steroids
• share needles or ink to get a tattoo
• share needles or jewelry to get a body piercing

Also, a woman with HIV can pass the virus to her baby during pregnancy (in the uterus), during birth, and through
breastfeeding.

Prevention is your only defense against HIV. Only you can protect yourself!

Sex
The most likely way that enough HIV gets into your bloodstream is through the interior skin or linings – the mucous membranes– of the vagina, the cervix (which is inside a woman’s vagina), the rectum, or the urethra (this is what we pee through – it’s the tube inside a man’s penis, or in front of the vagina in women). HIV can be transmitted if you have anal or vaginal sex without a condom or if you share sex toys that have not been cleaned each time someone uses them.

HIV can also get into your bloodstream through the mouth and throat. This is rare, but has happened. Some people have become infected with HIV after performing oral sex, but it is rare. When a person has a sexually transmitted infection (like gonorrhea, genital warts, or herpes), his or her risk for getting HIV drastically increases. Regular check-ups are necessary to prevent HIV transmission.

Needles
Another common way for HIV to gets into your blood is through a puncture from a needle that has already been used by someone else. When people who are injecting drugs share their ‘works’ (needle, cooker, etc), it is easy to become infected with HIV. It is also easy to get other infections, such as hepatitis C, from needle sharing.

Pregnancy
HIV can be transmitted from mother to child during pregnancy, labour or delivery. Without anti-retroviral drug treatment there is a 25% chance the child will be infected. With treatment, the rate drops to ~5%. However, the long-term effects of the drugs on the child are not yet known. HIV can also be passed to a child through breastfeeding.

Blood transfusions and blood products
In the past, some people were infected with HIV through blood transfusions and blood products used to treat illnesses like hemophilia. However, since 1985 all donated blood in Canada is tested for HIV. Also, you will not become infected when you donate blood.

This is an issue that our great-grandchildren will judge us by.
They will ask:
'What did you do to stop AIDS?
- Bono

Ryan Doherty is a Gradutate student studying Medical Biophysics at the University of Toronto.