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HIV
Download the Eddystone Trust – HIV Fact Sheet
Introduction
The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) attacks the body’s immune system. A healthy immune system provides a natural defence against disease and infection. If the immune system is damaged by HIV, it increases the risk of developing a serious infection or disease, such as cancer.
HIV infects particular cells, called CD4 cells, that are found in the blood. CD4 cells are responsible for fighting infection. After they become infected, the CD4 cells are destroyed by HIV. Although the body will attempt to produce more CD4 cells, their numbers will eventually decline and the immune system will stop working.
How is HIV spread?
HIV is spread through the exchange of bodily fluids. This most commonly happens during unprotected sexual contact, such as vaginal, oral and anal sex. People who inject illegal drugs and share needles are also at risk of catching HIV. The condition can also be spread from a mother to her unborn child.
There is no cure for HIV and no vaccine to stop you becoming infected. However, since the 1990s, treatments have been developed that enable most people with HIV to stay well and live relatively normal lives.
What is a retrovirus?
HIV is a special type of virus known as a retrovirus. The retrovirus reproduces inside the cell and releases copies of itself into the blood. It can be challenging to treat as the virus can rapidly mutate (alter) into new strains of virus.
What is AIDS?
Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is a term that is used to describe the late stage of HIV. This is when the immune system has stopped working and the person develops a life-threatening condition, such as pneumonia (infection of the lungs).
The term AIDS was first used by doctors when the exact nature of HIV was not fully understood. However, the term is no longer widely used because it is too general to describe the many different conditions that can affect somebody with HIV. Specialists now prefer to use the terms advanced or late-stage HIV infection.
Facts about HIV
How common is HIV?
HIV is a global pandemic. This means the condition has spread across the world. The World Health Organization estimates that 33.4 million people around the world were living with HIV at the end of 2008.
The virus is particularly widespread in sub-Saharan Africa, the African countries that lie south of the Sahara Desert, such as South Africa, Zimbabwe and Mozambique.
In the UK, around 83,000 people are living with HIV and experts believe that 27% of people with HIV do not know that they have it.
The number of people who are diagnosed with HIV has been rising since the beginning of the 21st century.
How is HIV spread?
HIV can be spread through the exchange of bodily fluids, such as blood, semen and vaginal fluids. The most common way that HIV is spread is through unprotected sexual contact, such as vaginal, oral and anal sex.
The virus can also be spread through sharing needles to inject drugs, and from a pregnant woman to her unborn baby. However, advances in treatment mean that it is possible to prevent the virus from being passed on by a mother to her child.
You cannot catch HIV from kissing, from being sneezed on by someone with HIV, from sharing baths, towels or cutlery with an HIV-infected person, from swimming in a pool or sitting on a toilet seat that someone with HIV has used, or from animals or insects such as mosquitoes.
Who is affected by HIV?
Although HIV is currently most widespread in gay men and people of sub-Sahara African origin, there is still a high risk among heterosexual and non-African populations. Rates of infection among people who acquired their infection heterosexually within the UK have risen, from an estimated 740 in 2004 to 1,130 in 2008.
People who inject illegal drugs and share needles are also at risk of getting HIV. The condition can also be spread from a mother to her unborn child. However, medicines can now be used to prevent this from happening.
The risk of HIV, hepatitis B or hepatitis C from transfusion is now extremely small (1 in 4 million for HIV, 1 in 100,000 for hepatitis B and less than 1 in 400,000 for hepatitis C). However, prior to effective tests and screening of blood donors and products, significant numbers were infected and this should make us wary.
Screening policies in the developing world may not be as rigorous, so there is a possible risk of developing HIV if you receive a blood transfusion in certain parts of the world.
