HIV: An Introduction

HIV stands for Human Immuno-deficiency Virus. It is a virus that can be passed on from an infected person to someone else in specific ways only, primarily attacking certain cells in the immune system. It affects the way our bodies can respond to infections and disease. If someone has HIV, they can become prone to certain illnesses and symptoms.

Transmission

HIV cannot pass through unbroken skin or through the air. It is not contagious and cannot be passed on through ordinary social contact.

HIV can be present in some body fluids, namely: blood; vaginal and cervical secretions; semen (cum); and breast milk. For HIV to be passed on, a certain amount of infected body fluids have to find their way into someone else’s blood.

Luckily, HIV is actually quite a fragile virus that cannot live in body fluids outside of the human body for very long. But the virus can get into someone’s bloodstream in 3 main ways:

sharing needles (and works)
from an infected mother to her unborn child

Other possible ways include:

breast-feeding
giving oral sex to a man with HIV
healthcare workers experiencing accidents with needles