The Arc of Western Wayne County: Serving people with disabilities

The Take Charge Helpline

HIV Prevention

HIV, which stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus, was first identified in 1981. Studies of stored blood samples indicate that the virus entered the United States population sometime in the late 1970's.  HIV generally leads to the person having AIDS, or Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. HIV infects thousands of people every day.

Among adults, HIV is spread most commonly during sexual intercourse with an infected partner.  HIV is spread through fluids including blood, semen and saliva.  During sex, the virus can enter the body through the mucusal linings of the vagina, vulva, penis, rectum, or very rarely by the mouth.  The likelihood of transmission is increased by factors that may damage these linings, especially other sexually transmitted diseases that cause ulcers or inflammation.  Research suggests that immune system cells, called dendritic cells, which reside in the mucosa, may begin the infection process after sexual exposure, they bind to and carry the virus from the site of infection to the lymph nodes where other immune system cells become infected.

HIV can also be transmitted by contact with infected blood, most likely through the sharing of drug needles or syringes contaminated with small quantities of blood containing the virus.  The risk of acquiring HIV from blood transfusions is now extremely small in the US, as all blood products in this country are screened routinely for evidence of the virus.

Almost all HIV-infected children acquire the virus from their mothers before or during birth.  In the United States, approximately 25 percent of pregnant HIV-infected women, not receiving anti-retroviral therapy, have passed on the virus to their babies.  Some research has shown that a specific regimen of the drug zidovudine, or AZT, can reduce the risk of transmission of HIV from mother to baby by two-thirds.  The virus may be transmitted from a nursing HIV-infected mother to her infant.

There is no cure for HIV or AIDS. You have to prevent it in the first place.  Ways to prevent getting the HIV virus include; abstaining from sexual activities, not sharing drug paraphernalia, and practicing safe sex by using a condom with spermicide.

If you would like more information, please contact the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, at 301-496-5717, or the Michigan AIDS hotline at 800-872-2437.

Phone code: 1511