Difference between AIDS and HIV :
HIV is the virus that causes AIDS. Nearly everyone who becomes infected
with HIV develops AIDS over a period of years. AIDS is a serious
condition in which the immune system is severely weakened, turning
normally mild or rare diseases into potentially fatal conditions.
The importance of testing for HIV :
Anyone can become infected with HIV. Most HIV-infected people look and feel
healthy and have no signs of being sick. It is possible for them to infect
others without even knowing it. It is a matter of what you do, not who you
are. If you engage in risky behaviors, you have a chance of being infected.
How HIV is spread :
HIV is spread by sexual content with an infected person, by needle-sharing among
injecting drug users, or, very rarely through transfusions of infected blood products,
organ transplantation, or artificial insemination. Babies to HIV-infected women
may become infected before or during birth, or through breast-feeding after birth.
However, HIV is most commonly spread through risky behaviors.
Risky Behaviors :
The two most risky behaviors are unprotected sex or sharing a needle or syringe. HIV
can enter the body through any type of sexual intercourse, including vaginal, anal and
oral sex. Unprotected sex is sexual intercourse without proper use of a latex condom.
HIV may be found in semen, vaginal fluids, blood and breast milk of infected individuals.
Any contact with these body fluids puts you at risk.
Injecting drugs with a needle or syringe used by another person is risky because it
can contain their blood. If that person is HIV-infected, you would be injecting HIV
directly into your body. You do not get HIV from touching or hugging infected people
or from sharing toilets or clothes with infected people. Because of widespread screening,
transplantation is extremely low.
The HIV-1 Antibody test :
The human body makes antibodies to fight all kinds of infections. Your body creates HIV-1
antibodies if you become infected with the HIV-1 virus. Our program tests your blood
specimen for antibodies to HIV-1.
Some people take longer than others to make antibodies to HIV-1. In most infected people,
these antibodies will show up in the blood within three months. In some people, it can take
up to six months or longer. This is important to know because the HIV-1 antibody tests
cannot detect some recent infections. For example, if you became infected January, you might
not test positive until June. It is during this period of time when people can test negative
for HIV-1 antibodies but still infect others.
