Human Immunodeficiency Virus or HIV/AIDS

What is HIV (Human immunodeficiency virus)?

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is the virus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). HIV is a virus that affects the immune system, and people with HIV infection may have no symptoms for many years. Ultimately, the immune system may become ineffective and serious infections and cancers develop, becoming full-blown AIDS. The HIV virus is spread by blood-to-blood contact (sharing needles) or by sex (vaginal or anal) with an infected partner. HIV can also be transmitted through breast milk. Once infected, a person remains infected, and infectious, for life. HIV is diagnosed by blood tests.
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Testing and treatment

Testing and treatment of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) can be an effective tool for preventing the spread of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. That’s because there is a strong link between being infected with an STD and getting or passing on HIV to a sex partner. Getting appropriate treatment for an STD greatly reduces a person’s ability to both become infected with HIV and give HIV to a sex partner. Studies have shown that treating STDs in HIV-infected people decreases both the amount and frequency of HIV they pass on to their partner. Regular screening and appropriate and immediate treatment for STDs are strongly recommended in HIV-positive, sexually active women, men, and their partners.
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What is the link between STDs and HIV infection?

People often hear about HIV and STDs in the same sentence. That’s because there are now many studies showing STDs increase a persons vulnerability to getting HIV and their likelihood of passing it on to a sex partner.

Research has shown the presence of other STDs increases the likelihood of both transmitting and acquiring HIV. Women or men who are infected with STDs are at least two to five times more likely to acquire HIV from an infected sex partner than are those who don’t have an STD. In addition, a person infected with HIV who also has another STD (for example, HIV and chlamydia) is more likely to pass HIV to a sex partner than an HIV-infected person who doesn’t have another STD.

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Increased vulnerability

When women and men with HIV infection are also infected with other STDs, they are more likely to shed HIV in their genital secretions. For example, men who are infected with both gonorrhea and HIV are more than twice as likely to shed HIV in their genital secretions as are those who are infected only with HIV. And the concentration of HIV in semen is as much as ten times higher in men who have both gonorrhea and HIV infection compared to men who only have HIV infection. The higher the concentration of HIV in semen or other genital fluids, the more likely HIV will be passed to a sex partner.
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Increased infectiousness

Studies have shown that when HIV-infected individuals are also infected with other STDs, they are more likely to have HIV in their genital secretions. For example, men who are infected with both gonorrhea and HIV are more than twice as likely to shed HIV in their genital secretions as are those who are infected only with HIV.
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