HIV Facts - Facts About AIDS

HIV is a virus that gradually weakens the body’s immune system, till the body can no longer fight off infections.

The first case of AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) was identified among gay men in the United States, in 1981. Later however, scientists found evidence that the disease existed in the world much earlier. This evidence was provided from the blood sample of a Bantu man who had died of an unidentified illness in the Belgian Congo in 1959.

AIDS is a condition that is caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). HIV kills the cells of the immune system, thus, destroying the body’s ability to fight against certain cancers and infections. A person who has been diagnosed with AIDS is always at risk of getting life-threatening diseases, called opportunistic infections. These infections are caused by microbes, which do not usually harm healthy people.

HIV Facts

HIV is transmitted by:

• Unprotected sexual intercourse with a person who is HIV-infected
• Sharing the same needles or syringes that are used by an HIV-infected person
• Blood transfusions, if the donor is HIV-infected
• Mother-to-infant transmission, where the HIV is transmitted during pregnancy, breast-feeding and childbirth

HIV is not transmitted by:

• Kissing or coughing
• Hugging
• Sharing the same toilet and washing facilities
• Insect bites caused by mosquitoes or other insects
• Eating food and using utensils, which have been handed out by someone who has HIV