Frequently Asked Questions – FAQs

1. What is AIDS? What causes AIDS?

AIDS stands for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome.

A HIV positive person receives an AIDS diagnosis after developing one of the CDC defined AIDS indicator illnesses. An HIV positive person can also receive an AIDS diagnosis on the basis of certain blood tests (CD4 counts) and may not have experienced any serious illnesses. A positive HIV test does not mean that a person has AIDS. A diagnosis of AIDS is made by a physician according to the CDC AIDS Case Definition.

Over time, infection with HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) can weaken the immune system to the point that the system has difficulty fighting off certain infections. These types of infections are known as opportunistic infections. Many of the infections that cause problems or that can be life-threatening for people with AIDS are usually controlled by a healthy immune system. The immune system of a person with AIDS has weakened to the point that medical intervention may be necessary to prevent or treat serious illness. (Source: Centers for Disease Control – CDC).

2. What is the difference between HIV and AIDS?

HIV is the virus that causes AIDS.

H – Human: because this virus can only infect human beings.
I - Immuno-deficiency: because the effect of the virus is to create a deficiency, a failure to work properly, within the body´s immune system.
V – Virus: because this organism is a virus, which means one of its characteristics is that it is incapable of reproducing by itself. It reproduces by taking over the machinery of the human cell.

A – Acquired: because it´s a condition one must acquire or get infected with; not something transmitted through the genes.
I - Immune: because it affects the body´s immune system, the part of the body which usually works to fight off germs such as bacteria and viruses.
D – Deficiency: because it makes the immune system deficient (makes it not work properly).
S - Syndrome: because someone with AIDS may experience a wide range of different diseases and opportunistic infections (Source: Centers for Disease Control – CDC).

3. How is HIV transmitted?

HIV can be transmitted from an infected person to another through:
. blood (including menstrual blood)
. semen
. vaginal secretions
. breast milk

Blood contains the highest concentration of the virus, followed by semen, followed by vaginal fluids, followed by breast milk.

* Activities that allow HIV transmission

. Unprotected sexual contact
. Direct blood contact, including injection drug needles, blood transfusions, accidents in health care settings or certain blood products.
. Mother to baby (before or during birth, or through breast milk).

The following “bodily fluids” are NOT infectious:

. Saliva
. Tears
. Sweat
. Feces
. Urine

(Source: San Francisco AIDS Foundation)

4. Can I get HIV from kissing?

Casual contact through closed-mouth or “social” kissing is not a risk for transmission of HIV. Because of the potential for contact with blood during “French” or open-mouth, wet kissing, CDC recommends against engaging in this activity with a person known to be infected. However, the risk of acquiring HIV during open-mouth kissing is believed to be very low. CDC has investigated only one case of HIV infection that may be attributed to contact with blood during open-mouth kissing. In this case both partners had extensive dental problems including gingivitis (inflammation of the gums). It is likely that there was blood present in both partners´mouths making direct blood to blood contact a possibility. (Source: Centers for Disease Control – CDC).



5. Can I get HIV from casual contact (shaking hands, hugging, using a toilet, drinking from the same glass, or the sneezing and coughing of an infected person)?

No. HIV is not transmitted by day to day contact in the home, the workplace, schools, or social settings. HIV is not transmitted through shaking hands, hugging or a casual kiss. You cannot become infected from a toilet seat, a drinking fountain, a doorknob, dishes, drinking glasses, food or pets. HIV is a fragile virus that does not live long outside the body. HIV is not an airborne of food borne virus. HIV is present in the blood, semen or vaginal secretions of an infected person and can be transmitted through unprotected vaginal, oral or anal sex or through.

AIDS – BRAZIL OVERVIEW

In Brazil, AIDS related deaths have been cut by more than half in the past eight years with a multifaceted approach that includes free medicine and a focus on HIV prevention.

In 1983, when Brazil´s program was started, the nation was one of the hardest hit by the baffling new illness. But by starting the fight early, Brazil avoided the crippling fate of man African and Caribbean countries.

Now with the program in its 20th year, less than one percent of Brazil´s adult population or 600,000 people is infected with HIV. In South Africa, more than 40 percent of adults are infected. A major reason for Brazil´s far lower incidence of infection is its prevention program, which promotes frank talk about safe sex. On the treatment side, anti-retroviral drugs are provided free to anyone who cannot afford them.

Drugs relatively cheap

Now about 125,000 patients are receiving the AIDS cocktail of drugs at a cost of about $2,000 per patient a year. That compares with $10,000 to $15,000 a year in developed nations, including the United States.

Brazil has been able to provide free treatment at a low cost because in 1997 it started a program to manufacture its own generic AIDS medicine.
The new head of the World Health Organization would like to use Brazil´s free, generic AIDS drug program as a model to help poor nations treat and prevent the disease.