On this page

HCET Home > On-line Training > Family Planning – The Basics > 6. HIV & AIDS

What is HIV? What is AIDS?

• Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is a syndrome that is caused by the virus Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)
• There is no cure for HIV/AIDS, but Antiviral Therapy, which slows the progress of disease, is available

Facts About HIV

• It takes on average 8-10 years from initial HIV infection to develop into AIDS
• Average age of infection is age 25
• It takes about one month for a person’s blood to seroconvert or show HIV once they have been infected. An HIV antibody test can detect HIV 3-6 months after infection occurs.
• New medications are greatly improving morbidity and life expectancy
• Having an STD that causes ulcers (such as herpes) increases the risk of transmission by ten times
• Having an STD that does not cause ulcers (such as chlamydia) increases the risk of transmission by four times

HIV/AIDS Symptoms

• HIV infection alone has no symptoms yet it is transmittable at all times

  AIDS symptoms
  

• Unexplained night sweats, fever, weight loss
• Persistent sore throat or “Monospot negative” mononucleosis
• Persistent generalized lymphadenopathy (swollen lymph glands)
• Unusual skin rashes, purple or black skin lesions
• Oral hairy luekoplakia, oral candidiasis (yeast)
• Persistent diarrhea
• Chronic cough, dyspnea
• Syphilis, recurrent HSV, HPV or vaginal yeast
• TB (tuberculosis)

One exposure to unprotected intercourse can give you HIV infection, but certain behaviors put people at higher risk of becoming infected with HIV.

High Risk Behaviors

• More than one sex partner (casual or steady)
• Sex without protection (anal, vaginal and oral) or inconsistent condom use
• Sharing needles or having sex with someone who does
• History of STD’s
• Having sex with someone with a STD or HIV
• Sex for money or drugs
• Use of drugs or alcohol while having sex
• Vaginal and Anal sex without a condom
• Blood transfusion, organ transplant, tattoo, body piercing, between 1978 and 1985

What does Safe Sex/Risk Reduction Mean

• Avoiding high risk behavior
• Abstinence is the best method
• Limit the number of partners
• Use latex or polyurethane condoms (male or female)
• Safe Sex: Very low risk, no reported cases of HIV due to these behaviors
• Massaging, hugging, body rubbing, kissing, masturbation, hand jobs
• Oral sex on a man with a condom or on a woman using a dental dam
• Remember that practicing these forms of sex does not eliminate your risk of getting HSV, HPV, and Lice

Principles of Good Risk Reduction Counseling

• Encourage small steps
• Personalize the advice, it is better than general information or written material
• Be realistic, create attainable goals
• Repeat the advice and the messages

  Counseling may focus on:
  

• Delaying the initiation of sex
• Negotiating safer sex, how to talk to your partner about condom use
• Techniques to avoid sharing needles
• Referrals to treatment programs

Safe Sex - Low risk, rare reported cases of HIV due to these behaviors:

• Oral sex without a condom or dental dam
• Vaginal sex with a condom
• Anal sex with a condom

Center for Disease Control (CDC) Focus & Approach

• Incorporate HIV testing into routine medical care, without requiring counseling beforehand
• Much more flexible and relaxed, much less time consuming
• Client centered
• Pre-counseling has shown little effect on HIV prevention
• No evidence to support extensive pre-counseling
• Pre-counseling shown to be a barrier to testing
• Expanding the use of rapid HIV tests, make testing quicker and decrease the stress of waiting
• CDC now wants to target those infected with the virus - The message: decrease high risk behavior thus decreasing transmission
• Emphasis on partner notification
• Research shows 30-70% of infected are unaware of their HIV status
• In the past the target group was the population as a whole
• The message: safe sex practices to all

Pregnancy and HIV Infection - Center for Disease Control (CDC) Goals

• Test all pregnant women for HIV
• HIV infected pregnant women who take AZT (an antiviral drug) during the pregnancy can decrease the risk of transmitting HIV to their fetus by as much as two-thirds if they:
• Start medication early in pregnancy;
• Continue therapy through labor and delivery; AND...
• Provide medication to the newborn for the first 6 weeks of life

For more information

• AIDSinfo - HIV / AIDS Information
• WHO: WHO HIV/AIDS Programme
• HIV / AIDS Information on the Internet, provided by AEGIS
• CDC National Prevention Information Network (NPIN)
• HIV InSite Gateway to HIV and AIDS Knowledge
• HIVpositive.com
• The Body: The Internet's Most Comprehensive HIV/AIDS Resource
• The Wisconsin HIV/STD/HCV Information & Referral Center Home Page
• Wisconsin AIDS/HIV Program Home Page

Self-test Questions

1. AIDS stands for______
   Acquired Immune Disease Syndrome
   Acquired Immune Disorder - Sexual
   Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome
   None of the above
   

2. HIV stands for________
   Human Immune Virus
   Herpes Insect Virus
   Human Papilloma Immune Virus
   Human Immunodeficiency Virus
   

3. The new CDC Goals include testing all pregnant women for HIV.
   True
   False
4. HIV positive persons may transmit the virus even though appearing and feeling healthy.
   True
   False

Section: Main 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

©2005 Health Care Education & Training, Inc.
URL: http://65.163.14.21/training/FPbasics/6HIVAIDS.htm
 Last update: 03/05/08