What is HIV?

What is HIV?

HIV stands for the human immunodeficiency virus, which infects the human immune system. Immunodeficiency is a condition where the immune system is unable to fight infections and diseases. People with immunodeficiency are significantly more susceptible to a variety of infections and various cancers that rarely affect people without immunodeficiency. HIV infection gradually depletes and weakens the immune system.

Most people with HIV are unaware they are infected. Although HIV often causes no symptoms, an infected person becomes contagious and can transmit the virus to others.

To find out if you have HIV, you need to get tested.

How is HIV transmitted?

HIV can be transmitted through the bodily fluids of infected people, such as blood, breast milk, semen and vaginal fluids. HIV can also be transmitted from mother to child during pregnancy, childbirth and breastfeeding.

Sexual transmission. HIV can be transmitted through penetrative sex. Statistically, anal sex is 10 times more likely to result in infection than vaginal sex. If a person has a sexually transmitted infection, especially if it is accompanied by ulcers or discharge, the risk of transmitting or acquiring HIV during sex is on average 6 to 10 times higher.

Transmission through shared needles and syringes. Repeated use or sharing of needles or syringes poses a high risk of HIV transmission. For people who inject drugs this risk can be sufficiently reduced by consistently using new, disposable, needles and syringes or by properly sterilizing reusable needles/syringes before use. To reduce the incidence of transmission in health-care settings, health-care workers should take special precautions.

Mother-to-child transmission. A child can get HIV from their mother during pregnancy, childbirth and breastfeeding. In general, the risk of mother-to-child transmission of HIV before and during childbirth is 15 to 30 per cent. After childbirth, an HIV-infected mother can pass the virus to her baby while breastfeeding. If the mother receives antiretroviral therapy during pregnancy and breastfeeding, the risk of HIV transmission to her baby is very low.

Transmission through blood transfusion. The risk of HIV infection is extremely high (over 90 per cent) if contaminated blood and blood products are used for transfusion. Blood safety considerations require screening of all donated blood for HIV and other blood-borne pathogens, and proper donor selection.

In addition, there is a risk of HIV infection from sharing non-sterile instruments for tattooing and body piercing, using another person's shaving equipment, transplanting organs and tissues from an HIV-infected donor, and using non-sterile medical instruments in medical care.

HIV infects people regardless of gender, age, nationality, sexual orientation, wealth or social group.