HIV/AIDS Fact Sheet

UNP-0045, Revised October 2006, Wendi Williams, Assistant to 1890 Administrator for Program Analysis, Reporting & Technical Editing and Certified HIV/AIDS Prevention Educator, Alabama A&M University; and Donnie Cook, Health and Nutrition Specialist, Alabama A&M University

---

AIDS 101

Most medical professionals believe that the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). HIV weakens the body's immune system or its ability to fight infections by destroying white blood cells (CD4+) called lymphocytes. When someone is HIV-positive, that person has HIV antibodies in his or her body. Antibodies are proteins produced by the immune system to fight germs or infections; however, the presence of HIV antibodies in the blood does not mean an individual has AIDS. A person can carry the AIDS virus for more than 10 years before it develops into AIDS. He or she may look healthy but still have the ability to infect others. A person is diagnosed with AIDS when his or her CD4+ cell count falls below 200 per cubic millimeter of blood. For normal adults, the CD4+ cell count is 1,000 or more per cubic millimeter of blood.

How do you get HIV?

HIV is transmitted through the bodily fluids of an individual carrying the virus. These bodily fluids are blood, semen, vaginal fluids, and breast milk. HIV can be transmitted in the following ways:

• Through the exchange or intake of blood, semen, or vaginal fluids while having vaginal, anal, or oral sex with someone who is HIV-positive
• By sharing needles used to draw blood, give tattoos, or pierce ears or by sharing syringes used to inject illegal or prescribed drugs with someone who is HIV-positive
• Through perinatal transmission ­ when a HIV-positive woman transmits the virus to her fetus during pregnancy, labor, delivery, or to her baby while breast-feeding

HIV does not survive long outside the human body and is not acquired through casual contact, such as touching, hugging, talking, or sharing common living quarters with a person infected with HIV or AIDS. You cannot contract the virus from an infected person by using the same eating utensils, swimming pools, hot tubs, drinking fountains, toilet seats, doorknobs, gym equipment, or telephones. You cannot contract the virus from body waste (feces or urine) or insect bites. No one has contracted the disease by having an infected person spit, sneeze, cough, sweat or shed tears on them. Only one known case of someone getting the virus as a result of kissing, from bleeding gums, has been reported (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 1997). Also, blood transfusions are safer today because donors are screened for high-risk factors, and donated blood is examined for the presence of HIV antibodies.

---

Treatment Options

There is no cure for HIV, and only a doctor can diagnose AIDS. Current drug therapies, such as Azidothymidine (AZT) or highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) that involves the use of three or more drugs, allow HIV-positive individuals to live long, productive lives by preventing the virus from replicating. This is evident in the decline since 1982 of AIDS-related deaths in Alabama. From the early 1980s to the early 1990s, AIDS-related deaths numbered in the thousands, and a person usually died between a few months and two years after being diagnosed ­ this is still true of undiagnosed and untreated cases today. However, a vaccine has yet to be developed.

What does this mean?

Prevention education and early detection are important factors in reducing the spread of HIV. While HIV infection has declined by 4 to 6 percent among some populations since 2000, the rate of new infections among teens, people of color, women, and adults over the age of 50 continues to climb.

---

Safe Health Practices

The only way to tell if you have HIV is to be tested. A person living with HIV is generally identified as having AIDS or advanced HIV disease, when a physician diagnoses one or more opportunistic infections. Opportunistic infections are diseases, such as tuberculosis, pneumonia, and Kaposi sarcoma, a malignant form of cancer, that take the "opportunity" to damage the immune system. A person who is HIV-positive has undergone an antibody test to confirm the presence of the virus. To avoid being infected, it's necessary to make smart decisions about sex, drug use, and prenatal and post-natal care. Although the surest way to avoid being infected is by abstaining from sex, sharing needles, or breast-feeding, other preventive measures may be helpful to you, your partner(s), or your baby.

If you're HIV-positive:

• Inform your current and past sex partner(s) that you are HIV-positive. Note: Take precautions when informing your partner(s) about your HIV status. AIDS is a life-threatening disease with no cure and some people may respond in an aggressive way. If you believe this is the case, a trained professional may be needed to inform the individual of his or her HIV status.
• Use a new latex condom each time you engage in sex, even if your partner is also HIV-positive.
• Use water-based lubricants with condoms because oil-based lubricants can cause tears or rips in condoms.
• Don't share sex apparatuses (toys), needles, or other drug paraphernalia.
• Avoid donating blood, plasma, or organs.
• Do not share toothbrushes or razors.
• If pregnant, a doctor may prescribe AZT or zidovudine (ZDV) to reduce the risk of transmission to the fetus. Once the baby is born, don't breastfeed. Consult your doctor about prescribing AZT for your infant during the first six weeks after birth.

If you have a same-sex partner:

• Wear a condom and use a dental dam or another protective barrier during oral sex because you are at risk of being infected through the intake of semen and vaginal bodily fluids, including menstrual blood.
• Avoid sharing sex apparatuses.

If you're a heterosexual:

• Use a latex or polyurethane condom with a water-based lubricant. The female condom also provides protection against HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases.
• Use a new condom or another protective barrier during oral sex. Note: A male or female condom does not provide 100 percent protection against HIV or other sexually transmitted diseases.
• Avoid sharing sex apparatuses.

If you're an injection drug user:

• Seek treatment for drug use immediately.
• Use sterile injection equipment and avoid sharing needles, syringes, or other equipment.
• Be sure all equipment and supplies, such as cotton, water, and the drug itself, are not contaminated.

---

What to do if infected

If you believe you are infected with HIV or AIDS, get tested and stop engaging in risky behavior. Risky behavior includes having vaginal, anal, or oral sex without a condom or dental dam and sharing needles for drug use or tattooing. If you are pregnant or breast-feeding, you are putting your baby at risk for HIV infection. Consult a health professional certified to treat people with HIV and AIDS.

HIV testing is generally free at county public health departments or at AIDS service organizations. However, only a medical doctor can diagnose AIDS. If you test positive for HIV, you will still have to see a physician and undergo additional confirmatory tests, such as the Western Blot or the Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) test. If you do not wish to consult your private doctor or you do not have medical insurance, you can be tested or receive medical treatment for HIV and AIDS at the following Alabama facilities.

Remember: People diagnosed with HIV or AIDS can live productive lives, but precaution is necessary to avoid infecting others. As with many chronic diseases, early detection can improve the quality of life. For those who are not infected, HIV and AIDS is 100 percent preventable. Wise choices can help safeguard your health and the health of your loved ones. As the saying goes, "It is not who you are but what you do that puts you at risk for HIV infection."

Where to go for help in Alabama

Contact your local health department or the following AIDS service organizations for testing and treatment.

1917 Clinic (The AIDS Outpatient Clinic) 908 South 20th Street Birmingham, AL 35294-2050 Toll-Free: (877) 614-9129 or (205) 975-9129	AIDS Action Coalition Davis Clinic 600 St. Clair Ave, Bldg 6, Suite 14 Huntsville, AL 35801 Phone: (256) 537-4700 Toll-Free: (800) 728-3603
AIDS Alabama 3521 7th Avenue South Birmingham, AL 35222 Phone: (205) 324-9311 Confidential Help: (800) 592-2437	Birmingham AIDS Outreach 205 32nd Street South Birmingham, AL 35233 Phone: (205) 322-4197
East Alabama Medical Center 2000 Pepperell Parkway Opelika, Alabama 36801 Phone: (334) 887-5244 Alabama AIDS Hotline Toll-Free: (800) 228-0469	Alabama Department of Public Health Direct Care & Services Branch 201 Monroe Street, RSA Tower Suite 1400 Montgomery, AL 36104 Phone: (334) 206-5364
Health Services Center, Inc. 608 Martin Luther King Drive Hobson City, Alabama 36201 Phone: (256) 832-0100	South Alabama CARES (Community AIDS Resources, Education, and Support) 2054 Dauphin Street P.O. Box 40296 Mobile, Alabama 36640 Phone: (251) 471-5277
Jefferson County AIDS in Minorities 1925 Bessemer Road Birmingham, AL 35208 Phone: (251) 781-1654	West Alabama AIDS Outreach 2720 Sixth Street Tuscaloosa, AL 35403 Phone: (202) 759-8470

---

References

Advocates for Youth. (May 2006). Safer sex: Get the facts. Retrieved May 8, 2006.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (September 22, 2003). HIV and its transmission. Retrieved May 8, 2006.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (July 11, 1997). Transmission of HIV possibly associated with exposure to mucous membrane to contaminated blood. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Retrieved May 8, 2006.

United States Department of Health & Human Services. (March 2005). HIV infection and AIDS: An overview. National Institutes of Allergy & Infectious Diseases/National Institutes of Health. Retrieved May 8, 2006.

United States Food and Drug Administration. (April 4, 2006). Drugs used to treat complications of HIV/AIDS. Retrieved May 8, 2006.

For more information, contact your county Extension office. Visit http://www.aces.edu/counties or look in your telephone directory under your county's name to find contact information. Issued in furtherance of Cooperative Extension work in agriculture and home economics, Acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914, and other related acts, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The Alabama Cooperative Extension System (Alabama A&M University and Auburn University) offers educational programs, materials, and equal opportunity employment to all people without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age, veteran status, or disability.