How is HIV transmitted?
HIV is found in some body fluids of people living with HIV , including blood, semen, vaginal fluids, rectal fluids, and breast milk. HIV can be transmitted through:
– Unprotected sex with someone infected with HIV ;
– Transfusion of infected blood;
– Sharing needles, syringes, other injection equipment, surgical equipment or other sharp instruments…
– From an HIV-infected mother to her child during pregnancy, childbirth or breastfeeding.
Using condoms regularly and correctly helps prevent HIV.
How to test for HIV?
HIV testing is the only way to know if a person has HIV. HIV can be diagnosed with rapid diagnostic tests, which provide results within minutes. However, these preliminary results need to be confirmed by testing at a licensed medical facility (for HIV confirmatory testing).
Knowing your HIV status has two important benefits:
– People who test positive can take steps to receive treatment, care and support before symptoms appear. This can prolong life and prevent health complications for many years.
– People who know about their condition can take precautions to prevent transmitting HIV to others.
WHO recommends that HIV testing should be offered in all health facilities and through many community settings. People can also use HIV self-testing kits to test themselves. People using the test kit who self-test and have a positive result need to have it confirmed at a medical facility.
Consequences of not treating HIV
For people living with undiagnosed HIV or not taking antiretroviral therapy (ART), signs of HIV-related illness can develop within 5–10 years, or even sooner.
The time between HIV transmission and AIDS diagnosis is usually 10-15 years, but sometimes it can be longer. There are a very small number of people who have controlled their HIV infection without ART, but this situation is rare and most people will need ART to control HIV.
The relationship between HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases
HIV infection is more likely to occur if a person has another sexually transmitted infection (STI), and vice versa. The probability of contracting HIV or other sexually transmitted pathogens increases significantly when people engage in risky sexual behaviors (e.g., not using condoms , having sex without safe with multiple partners; having sex under the influence of drugs and alcohol).
Additionally, ulcers and inflammation caused by some STIs facilitate HIV infection. Evidence shows that genital herpes (HSV-2) nearly triples the risk of HIV in both men and women. Additionally, women living with HIV are at increased risk of human papilloma virus (HPV) infection and are six times more likely to develop cervical cancer.
How to prevent sexual transmission of HIV?
Globally, HIV is mainly transmitted through unprotected vaginal and anal sex.
In our country, unsafe sex is becoming the main route of HIV infection, especially among men who have sex with men (MSM).
In recent years, if the HIV infection rate among female sex workers (less than 3%) and among injecting drug users (9%) has been stable, the HIV infection rate among MSM (men who have sex) has been stable. homosexuality) increased worryingly, about 12%–13%. In some localities, the proportion of MSM accounts for 50%-70% of the total newly discovered HIV cases during the year.
There are a number of methods that can be used to prevent sexually transmitted HIV infection, and should incorporate effective prevention interventions, including:
- Use male and/or female condoms regularly and correctly;
- For HIV-negative people at high risk, take HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to prevent HIV transmission;
- For people with HIV, taking ART reduces the viral load to undetectable levels, meaning they cannot transmit HIV to their partners;
- Diagnosis and treatment of other sexually transmitted diseases;
- Be aware of your status and people living with HIV must continue to take ART medications to prevent transmission to their partners…
