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Frequently Asked Questions
- What are the main routes of HIV
transmission?
- Can one get HIV through oral
sex?
- Can I get HIV through kissing?
- Is it true that gay men are at
a higher risk of getting HIV infection?
- Is there a connection between
HIV and other STDs (Sexually transmitted Diseases)?
- Is there a risk of HIV
transmission when having a tattoo, body piercing or
visiting the barbers?
- Are healthcare workers at risk
of HIV infection through contact with HIV+ patients?
- Can Mosquitoes spread HIV?
- Can I transmit HIV to my baby
while I am pregnant or if I breastfeed?
- Is it true that circumcision
protects against HIV?
- If I am on antiretroviral
drugs and have an 'undetectable' viral load; am I still
infectious?
- How soon after infection will
a person test HIV positive?
- What are the signs and
symptoms of HIV infection?
- At what point can it be said
that a person has AIDS?
- What is an HIV antibody test?
- What is a rapid test?
- Why should I do an HIV test?
What if my test comes back positive?
- If I test HIV negative, does
that mean my partner is HIV negative too?
- Why should pregnant women
take an HIV test?
- Can babies have an HIV
antibody test?
- Do I need to have an HIV test
to visit or work in another country?
- Will having a positive HIV
test result affect my ability to get insurance or a
mortgage?
- Can an employer ask me to
have an HIV test?
- Will I be tested for HIV if I
give blood?
Q1. What are the main routes
of HIV transmission?
One can get infected with HIV by the
following ways:
Having unprotected sexual intercourse with an infected
person.
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, or through
breast-feeding.
Sharing unsterilized sharp objects e.g. needles, blades,
clippers e.t.c which may have previously cut an infected
person.
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Q2. Can one get HIV through
oral sex?
Although it is possible to become infected with HIV through
oral sex, the risk of becoming infected in this way is much
lower than the risk of infection via unprotected sexual
intercourse with a man or woman.
When giving oral sex to a man (sucking or licking a man's
penis) a person could become infected with HIV if infected
semen gets into any cuts, sores or receding gums a person
might have in their mouth.
Giving oral sex to a woman (licking a woman's clitoris or
vagina) is also considered relatively low risk. Transmission
could take place if infected sexual fluids from a woman got
into the mouth of her partner. The likelihood of infection
occurring might be increased if there is menstrual blood
involved or the woman is infected with another STD.
The likelihood of either a man or a woman becoming infected
with HIV as a consequence of receiving oral sex is extremely
low.
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Q3. Can I get HIV through kissing?
Deep or open-mouthed kissing is a very low risk activity in
terms of HIV transmission. HIV is only present in saliva in
very minute amounts, insufficient to cause infection with
HIV alone.
There has been only one documented case of someone becoming
infected with HIV through kissing; a result of exposure to
infected blood during open-mouthed kissing. If you or your
partner have blood in your mouth, you should avoid kissing
until the bleeding stops.
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Q4. Is it true that gay men are at a higher
risk of getting HIV infection?
Statistics show that the percentage of HIV infection in
MSM (men who have sex with men) is usually substantially
higher than in heterosexual men.
Unprotected anal intercourse does carry a higher risk than
most other forms of sexual activities. The lining of the
rectum has less cells than that of the vagina, and therefore
can be damaged and cause bleeding during intercourse. This
can then be a route into the bloodstream for infected sexual
fluids or blood. There is also a risk to the insertive
partner during anal intercourse, though the risk is less
than that of the receptive partner.
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Q5. Is there a connection between HIV and
other STDs (Sexually transmitted Diseases)?
The presence of STDs in an HIV infected person can cause
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 (e.g.
syphilis or herpes) or through the infection stimulating an
immune response in the genital area and thus making HIV
transmission more likely (e.g. 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.
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Q6. Is there a risk of HIV transmission when
having a tattoo, body piercing or visiting the barbers?
If instruments contaminated with blood are not sterilized
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, ensure that the clipper has been
sterilized before it is used on you. Make getting your own
clipper or shaving blade a priority. If you don’t have your
own, always carry a small bottle of sterilizer with you to
the barbers, manicure/pedicure centre etc. The most
effective and commonly available sterilizer is house-hold
bleach.
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Q7. Are healthcare workers at risk of HIV
infection 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
needle-stick 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.
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Q8. Can Mosquitoes spread HIV?
No, it is not possible to get HIV from mosquitoes. Blood is
food for the mosquito and it goes directly into its stomach.
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.
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Q9. Can I transmit HIV to my baby while I
am pregnant or 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.
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Q10. Is it true that circumcision
protects against HIV?
Research has shown that circumcised men are up to 70% less
likely to contract HIV through sex. This is because the
inner lining of the foreskin is thought to be particularly
vulnerable to HIV. However, circumcision does not mean you
cannot get HIV, it just means it's less likely. Circumcised
men can also pass on the virus just as easily as those whose
foreskin has not been removed.
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Q11. If I am on antiretroviral drugs and
have an 'undetectable' viral load; am I still infectious?
Even if you are on treatment or your tests show that you
have very low levels of HIV in your blood, the virus is
never totally eradicated and you are therefore still capable
of infecting others. Some drugs do not penetrate the
genitals and disable HIV as easily as they do in the blood.
This means that while you may have little active virus
showing up on tests, there may still be quite a lot of HIV
in your semen or vaginal fluids. Transmission may be less
likely when you have a low viral load, but it is still
possible so you should always use appropriate contraception.
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Q12. How soon after infection will a
person test HIV positive?
Infection with HIV has no specific symptoms. The only way
you can find out for sure if you are infected with HIV is by
taking the HIV antibody test. The HIV antibody test looks
for antibodies to the virus in a person's blood. For most
people these antibodies take 3 months to develop. In rare
cases, it can take up to 6 months. It would be extremely
uncommon to take longer then 6 months to develop detectable
antibodies.
Getting tested before the 3 month period is up may result in
an unclear test result, as an infected person may not have
developed antibodies to HIV yet. So it is best to wait for
at least three months after the last time you were at risk
before taking the test. Some test centres may recommend
testing again at 6 months, just to be extra sure.
It is also important that you are not at risk of further
exposures to HIV during this time period. Most importantly
you should continue to practice safe sex and not share
needles.
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Q13. What are the signs and symptoms of HIV
infection?
The symptoms of initial HIV infection are not very specific.
If a person is infected, a few weeks after infection some
people experience a cold-like illness. Only one-fifth of
people experience symptoms which are serious enough to
require a doctor's attention. The only way to know for sure
whether you are infected with HIV is to have an HIV antibody
test.
Several years after infection a person may experience
symptoms of particular illnesses and cancers. These are the
result of the infected person's immune system being damaged
by HIV to the point where it is no longer able to fight off
these opportunistic infections.
In each case, HIV infection is difficult to diagnose with
out having taken an HIV antibody test first.
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Q14. At what point can it be said that a
person has AIDS?
You cannot tell whether a person is infected with HIV or has
developed AIDS by how they look and appear to you.
A person infected with HIV is diagnosed as having AIDS when
they develop an AIDS defining illness. This is the result of
HIV weakening their immune system to the point at which it
has difficulty fighting off infections that would otherwise
be controlled by a healthy immune system. Because these
illness take advantage of an infected persons immune system
to cause illness, they are also know as opportunistic
infections.
In many countries anti-viral drugs are available to people
with HIV to help reduce the rate at which HIV weakens the
immune system. There are also drugs available to prevent and
treat some of the specific opportunistic infections.
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Q15. What is an HIV antibody test?
An antibody test is one type of HIV test. This test shows
whether a person has been infected with HIV. This test looks
for HIV antibodies in a person's blood. When HIV enters a
person's body, special chemicals are produced. These are
called antibodies. Antibodies are the body's response to an
infection. So if a person has antibodies to HIV in their
blood, it means they have been infected with HIV (an
exception is the case of an HIV negative baby born to a
positive mother, who will retain her antibodies for some
months). Depending on the clinic, the test results can take
from a few days up to three weeks.
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Q16. What is a rapid test?
A rapid HIV test is also an antibody test. The advantage of
a rapid test is that you do not have return to get your test
result. The test results from a rapid test are usually
available in approximately 30 minutes. Rapid tests are
single-use, and do not require laboratory facilities or
highly trained staff. This makes rapid tests particularly
suitable for use in resource-limited countries.
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Q17. Why should I do an HIV test? What if
my test comes back positive?
Many people who have done the HIV test have been worrying
unnecessarily. Getting a negative result (which means you
are not infected with HIV) can put your mind at rest. If
your test result is positive, many things can be done to
help you to cope with the HIV positive result and look after
your health. If your test is positive, then
A doctor can keep an eye on your health. Many people who
test positive stay healthy for several years. But if you
fall ill, there are many drugs called antiretrovirals that
can help to slow down the virus and maintain your immune
system.
If you do fall ill, the doctor is going to take your
symptoms more seriously if they know that you are HIV
positive.
If you know that you are HIV positive, you can take steps to
protect other people.
Knowing that you have HIV may affect some of your future
decisions and plans.
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Q18. If I test HIV negative, does that
mean my partner is HIV negative too?
No. Your HIV test results reveals only your HIV status. Your
negative test result does not indicate whether or not your
partner has HIV. HIV is not necessarily transmitted every
time there is an exposure. Therefore, you taking an HIV test
should not be seen as a method to find out if your partner
is infected.
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Q19. Why should pregnant women take an HIV
test?
In many countries, you are offered an HIV test when you are
pregnant as part of your antenatal care. It is your choice
to decide whether you want to take it or not. However, if
you are HIV-positive and do not know it, you cannot benefit
from treatment that can prevent you from passing on HIV to
your baby.
If your test result is positive, this means that you could
pass HIV to your baby during pregnancy, during birth or by
breastfeeding. However, there are certain things a woman can
do to minimize the risk of HIV being passed to her child.
These include:
- taking drugs called antiretrovirals during pregnancy
(excluding the first 3-4 months of pregnancy),
- taking antiretroviral drugs during labour
- choosing caesarean section as the method of delivery
- giving the baby a short course of antiretroviral
therapy after birth
- abstaining from breast-feeding
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Q20. Can babies have an HIV antibody test?
All babies born to mothers with HIV are born with HIV
antibodies. If an HIV antibody test was given to a newborn
baby, it would not give an accurate result. Babies who are
not infected lose their antibodies by the time they are
around 18 months old. So it is only after your baby is 18
months old that the HIV antibody test will give an accurate
result.
However, most babies can be diagnosed as either infected or
uninfected by the time they are 3 months old by using a
different test, called the PCR test. The PCR test is more
sensitive than the HIV test and looks for the presence of
HIV itself, not antibodies.
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Q21. Do I need to have an HIV test to visit
or work in another country?
Some countries, for instance the USA, do not allow people
with HIV to enter the country, or need a proof of a negative
test result before they will be issued a visa or work
permit.
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Q22. Will having a positive HIV test result
affect my ability to get insurance or a mortgage?
If you find that you are infected with HIV, you are likely
to be turned down from getting a life insurance in the UK.
This may affect your ability to get a mortgage. However,
there are some companies that do provide insurance for
positive people. Insurance you had before you were tested
will not be affected. If you are not infected, your ability
to get insurance should not be affected. These days, you
should not be asked if you have ever had an HIV test and
tested negative.
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Q23. Can an employer ask me to have an HIV
test?
This also depends on the circumstances related to the
country you are in. In the UK, it is legal for employers
with certain type of jobs only to recruit people with no
serious health problems. Some companies may have policies
that require compulsory testing for their workforce.
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Q24. Will I be tested for HIV if I give
blood?
Yes. Blood banks screen all donated blood (and organs) for
HIV and other infections such as hepatitis, to prevent
transmission to recipients. If the test result is positive,
the blood donation service will inform the person and advise
them what to do next.
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