11.3: HIV Transmission Animation Video
Transcript:
HIV Transmission
HIV, or human immunodeficiency virus, weakens the body’s immune system by infecting and killing cells. This virus can sometimes lead to AIDS, an often fatal disease in which the body cannot fight against infections or diseases. As a communicable disease, there are certain ways HIV can be transmitted, and other ways which it cannot.
While some communicable diseases can spread from animals, and others can be spread through the air, HIV cannot. HIV can only be spread from person to person.
But how does HIV spread from one person to another? In humans, HIV is found in some bodily fluids. Blood, for example, can transmit HIV from person to person. This can include the use of needles for drug abuse, tattoos, or piercings.
Other bodily fluids, such as tears, sweat, or saliva from kissing, spitting, or sharing foods and drinks, are not methods of transmission for HIV. This explains why HIV does not spread through the air from sneezing or coughing as easily as the flu.
But be careful! Blood is not the only bodily fluid that can transmit HIV. It is possible to transmit HIV through semen, vaginal fluids, and breast milk. This means that HIV can be transmitted through sexual intercourse. It also means that HIV-positive mothers can transmit the virus to their babies through breastfeeding.
HIV is not transmitted through skin to skin contact, like using the same toilet seat as someone who is HIV-positive, as long as the skin is healthy and intact. This means that shaking hands is not a way to transmit HIV either.
Open sores on the skin, in the mouth, or on the genitals can be methods of transmission for HIV. Due to the sores and inflammation associated with other STIs, a person with an STI is more at risk for HIV infection than someone without an STI.